A Dated Dam with a Curved Plan
Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome (堂々川三番砂留, Dōdōgawa Sanban Sunadome) is a stone check dam built around 1832 in Yuno, Kannabe-chō, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 3 August 2006.
It stands about 60 metres upstream of No. 2 and is 36 metres long and 5.5 metres high. Among the six numbered dams, only this one and No. 5 are dated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to a specific year rather than a span of decades. It was extended in the Meiji era, between 1868 and 1911. Its registration number is 34-0077, and it belongs to the national government through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Why It Was Registered
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the Agency's description of Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome picks out two structural features.
The first is the cross-section. Large granite blocks are stacked in steps at what Japanese builders call a 6-bu batter, each course set back about 0.6 units for every unit of height. The top was later raised with a Nunozumi wall of level courses. The big stepped blocks below and the tidy horizontal joints above mark two different campaigns of work.
The second is the plan. Rather than crossing the valley in a straight line, the dam bows gently upstream and ties into the hillside at each end. Part of the load from sediment and water is carried along the curve and handed to the rock of the banks. No. 5 uses the same idea.
What to Look For: A Foundation on Bedrock
Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome was excavated in 1996, and the investigation clarified how it was built. Hiroshima Prefecture's erosion-control material refers to that survey, and the Dōdōgawa Hotaru Dōkōkai records that the lower courses were found to reach bedrock.
The same group, noting that the dam was raised in the Meiji era, argues that techniques equivalent to those Dutch engineers brought to Shiga Prefecture in the Meiji era were already routine in the Fukuyama domain. That is the group's view, and it does not set out the comparison in detail.
Standing in front of the dam, let your eye travel from the central spillway out to each end. The crest line bends in a shallow arc, and the ends bed into the rock of the hillside.
Visiting
Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome is an open-air river structure, free and viewable from the bank at any time without booking. Stay off the crest and spillway. No official photography restrictions are published.
The curved plan is hard to see head-on. Look from higher ground on the bank, a little downstream of one end, and the arc of the crest becomes obvious. No. 2 is only about 60 metres away, so the two are easy to compare. Directions and parking are on the Dodogawa Sunadome group page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hiroshima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome (Stone Check Dam)
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Q&A
- When was Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to around 1832, with an extension in the Meiji era, between 1868 and 1911.
- How big is Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome?
- It is 36 metres long and 5.5 metres high, about 60 metres upstream of No. 2.
- Why is Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome curved in plan?
- The dam bows upstream and ties into the hillsides, so part of the pressure from sediment and water is carried to the ends and resisted by the rock of the banks.
- Has Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome been excavated?
- Yes, in 1996. According to the Dōdōgawa Hotaru Dōkōkai, the excavation confirmed that the lower courses reach bedrock.
- Can I visit Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome?
- Yes, free and at any time. It is an open-air structure viewed from the bank. Do not climb onto the crest or spillway.
Basic Information
| Name | Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome (堂々川三番砂留) |
|---|---|
| Location | Sakoyama, Yuno, Kannabe-cho, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2006/8/3 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 dam |
| Dimensions | Length 36 metres, height 5.5 metres |
| Owner | Government of Japan (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) |
| Public Access | Outdoors; open at all times, free of charge |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Dodogawa No. 3 Sunadome
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005662
- Hiroshima Prefecture Erosion Control Division: Dodogawa historic sabo facilities (Japanese PDF)
- https://www.sabo.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/portal/sonota/sabo/pdf/301_doudou.pdf
- Dodogawa Hotaru Dokokai: The Sunadome of the Dodogawa (Japanese)
- https://dodogawa.com/sunadome.php
Last verified: 2026.09.24
