Where the Dams Grow Tall
Dodogawa No. 5 Sunadome (堂々川五番砂留, Dōdōgawa Goban Sunadome) is a stone check dam built around 1835 in Nishinakajō, Kannabe-chō, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 3 August 2006.
It stands about 180 metres upstream of No. 4 and is 31 metres long and 8.8 metres high. Below it, none of the dams exceeds 5.5 metres; here the height jumps, and only No. 6 upstream is larger. It was extended in the Meiji era, between 1868 and 1911. Its registration number is 34-0079, 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. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes Dodogawa No. 5 Sunadome through three features.
First, the body is built of large granite blocks stepped back at a 6-bu batter, about 0.6 units of setback for each unit of height. Second, the top was raised with Nunozumi level courses and Tanizumi diagonal masonry. Third, like No. 3, the dam is gently arched in plan, and its crest has a slight nawadarumi, a sag.
Nawadarumi means "rope sag": the crest dips toward the middle the way a rope does when held at both ends. Floodwater gathers in the low centre and falls there, away from the wings and banks. Combined with the arched plan, it sends water to the middle and sediment pressure to the ends.
What to Look For: One Date, Two Dams
The date of about 1835 is the one the Agency and Fukuyama City both give for Dodogawa No. 5 Sunadome. Hiroshima Prefecture's erosion-control sheet for No. 6, just upstream, divides that dam into four layers and assigns its lower layer of coursed masonry to 1835. The same year is attached to two different dams, and the published material does not show which attribution rests on documents, or whether both were worked on at once.
According to the Dōdōgawa Hotaru Dōkōkai, No. 5 was holding back water by 1915, when the bare hillside to the east was replanted. More than a century later that slope is forested, and a forestry cooperative has laid a 250-metre walking path. The sediment flat behind No. 5 is one of the group's working bases and a reliable place for fireflies and spider lilies.
Visiting
Dodogawa No. 5 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.
It is one of the dams nearest Dōdō Park, about 220 metres below No. 6. Stand on the sediment flat above No. 5 and, as the local group suggests, you can look up at the full face of No. 6. The sag in No. 5's own crest shows best from downstream, facing the dam. Directions and parking are on the Dodogawa Sunadome group page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hiroshima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Dodogawa No. 5 Sunadome (Stone Check Dam)
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Q&A
- When was Dodogawa No. 5 Sunadome built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to around 1835, with an extension in the Meiji era, between 1868 and 1911.
- How big is Dodogawa No. 5 Sunadome?
- It is 31 metres long and 8.8 metres high, second only to No. 6 among the six numbered dams. It stands about 180 metres upstream of No. 4.
- What is the nawadarumi on Dodogawa No. 5 Sunadome?
- A slight sag in the crest toward the centre, like a rope held at both ends. It gathers floodwater in the middle so that the wings and banks are spared.
- Can you see No. 6 from Dodogawa No. 5 Sunadome?
- Yes. From the sediment flat above No. 5 you look up at the face of No. 6, about 220 metres upstream.
- Can I visit Dodogawa No. 5 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. 5 Sunadome (堂々川五番砂留) |
|---|---|
| Location | Totodani, Nishinakajo, 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 31 metres, height 8.8 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. 5 Sunadome
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005664
- Fukuyama City: Dodogawa No. 5 Sunadome (Japanese)
- https://www.city.fukuyama.hiroshima.jp/soshiki/bunka/64110.html
- Hiroshima Prefecture: Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome profile sheet (Japanese PDF)
- https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/177150.pdf
- Dodogawa Hotaru Dokokai: The Sunadome of the Dodogawa (Japanese)
- https://dodogawa.com/sunadome.php
Last verified: 2026.09.24
