The Giant at the Top of the Valley
Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome (堂々川六番砂留, Dōdōgawa Rokuban Sunadome) is a late Edo-period stone check dam in Nishinakajō, Kannabe-chō, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 3 August 2006.
It stands about 220 metres upstream of No. 5 and is 56 metres long and 13 metres high, the largest of the dams built on the Dōdōgawa in the days of the Fukuyama domain. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a landmark that local people are fond of. Hiroshima Prefecture's erosion-control office gives finer figures of 13.3 metres high and 55.8 metres long. Its registration number is 34-0080, and it belongs to the national government through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Why It Was Registered, Layer by Layer
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country. The dam is a gravity structure of large granite blocks stepped back at a 1-wari batter, about one unit of setback for each unit of height, and raised at the top with Nunozumi courses and other masonry. That is a gentler slope than the 6-bu batter of Nos. 3 and 5, and it gives No. 6 a broad, spreading base.
The Agency dates the dam to the late Edo period, between 1751 and 1829, with an extension in the Meiji era, between 1868 and 1911. The prefecture goes further and reads Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome as four layers: a base of large split stones in random stacking from 1773; a lower layer of coursed masonry from 1835; a middle layer raised in 1879; and an upper layer where the channel works were relaid in 1976.
The 1835 date is the same one the Agency and Fukuyama City give to No. 5 downstream, so the sources disagree on where it belongs. The Dōdōgawa Hotaru Dōkōkai reads at least four raisings in the masonry and notes stones at the base that may have come from an ancient burial mound.
What to Look For
This is a working structure. Hiroshima Prefecture records that No. 6 did its job during the heavy rain of June 2016, when the seasonal rain front caused damage across the Bingo region.
There are two ways to see it. From above: as the prefecture suggests, stand at the top and the full 13-metre drop falls away at your feet. From below: the Dōdōgawa Hotaru Dōkōkai recommends looking up from the streambed above No. 5, where the scale finally makes sense. Looking up the face, you can follow the changes in block size and bonding that mark each layer.
Beside the west end stands a stone inscribed Dōdōdani Yoteki. According to the group, it went up around 1977, when Dōdō Park was completed, and its title comes from the record of a Meiji-era lawsuit in which the villages of Nishinakajō and Shimogoryō fought over the hills west of the stream.
Visiting
Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome is an open-air river structure, free and open at any time. Keep back from the edge when looking down from the top, and stay off the spillway. No official photography restrictions are published.
Dōdō Park, with its car park, occupies the sediment flat directly behind the dam, so drivers reach the crest within a minute or two of parking. For the view from below, walk about 220 metres downstream to No. 5. Directions and park details are on the Dodogawa Sunadome group page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hiroshima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome (Stone Check Dam)
- [ Itsukushima Shrine & Hiroshima Peace Memorial ]
Q&A
- How big is Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs records 56 metres long and 13 metres high; Hiroshima Prefecture gives 13.3 metres high and 55.8 metres long. It is the largest of the domain-era dams on the Dōdōgawa.
- When was Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome built?
- The Agency dates it to the late Edo period, between 1751 and 1829, with a Meiji-era extension between 1868 and 1911. The prefecture assigns its layers to 1773, 1835, 1879 and 1976.
- Where is the best place to view Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome?
- From the top for the drop, and from the streambed above No. 5 for the full face and its layers.
- Is there parking near Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome?
- Yes. Dōdō Park, on the sediment flat behind the dam, has a car park a short walk from the crest.
- Is Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome still in use?
- Yes. Hiroshima Prefecture records that it worked as designed during the heavy rain of June 2016.
Basic Information
| Name | Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome (堂々川六番砂留) |
|---|---|
| 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 56 metres, height 13 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. 6 Sunadome
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005665
- Fukuyama City: Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome (Japanese)
- https://www.city.fukuyama.hiroshima.jp/soshiki/bunka/64275.html
- Cultural Heritage Online: Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/185573
- Hiroshima Prefecture Erosion Control Division: Historic Sabo Facilities, Dodogawa No. 6 Sunadome (Japanese)
- https://www.sabo.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/portal/map/AreaInfoDetail.aspx?id=187
- 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
