A Brick Sluice Behind a Shrine
The Ezure Irrigation Canal Old Channel Miyaura Double Sluice (江連用水旧溝宮裏両樋, Ezure Yosui Kyuko Miyaura Ryohi) stands in Motosodo, Shimotsuma City, Ibaraki Prefecture, was completed in 1900, and was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 26 March 2015.
The structure sits directly behind Munetoo Shrine, which is why local people have always called it Miyaura-zeki, the weir behind the shrine. Two brick sluice gates face the water, each 3.6 metres long and each formed of two arched openings. A curving brick retaining wall ties them together into a single work. Water arriving from upstream was split here and sent east and west in equal share.
Nothing about the setting prepares you for it. The approach runs past a rural shrine and a small park, and then the brickwork appears at the level of your feet, low and precise, still holding its line after 126 years.
Water, and Who Fought For It
The Ezure canal draws from the Kinugawa river at Kami-Ezure in Moka City, Tochigi Prefecture, and carries water into the land between the Kinugawa and the Kokaigawa. The scheme began in the Edo period as part of the Kyoho-era reforms and their programme of new paddy development, then failed when the water level of the Kinugawa dropped and the intake ran dry. It was abandoned.
Later engineers linked the disused channel to four existing watercourses, and the canal in its present form was completed in 1829. The system is recorded as having watered around 1,654 cho of paddy, a figure of roughly 1,640 hectares. The name of the former village of Chiyokawa is said to come from a poem composed by an official who directed the canal works.
The Miyaura sluice belongs to a later chapter. Built in 1900, it represents the modernisation of an Edo-period irrigation network in brick and mortar, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs registered it under the criterion covering structures that contribute to the historic landscape of the nation. Its registration number is 08-0271, and it was the first property in Shimotsuma City to enter the register.
Registered cultural properties that are agricultural infrastructure remain uncommon nationally. Many brick sluices were built across the northern Kanto plain in the Meiji period, and the Ezure canal alone once had a number of them. This is the only one still standing.
Details Worth Looking For
Start with the central pier between the two openings of each gate. On the upstream face it is drawn out into a cutwater shaped like the bow of a boat, so that the current parts cleanly instead of hammering a flat face. On the downstream side the same pier steps down in stages. This combination is the feature the national register singles out, and it is visible from the bank without any special vantage point.
Then look at how the bricks are laid. Courses of stretchers alternate with courses of headers: English bond, the pattern favoured by engineers trained in the late nineteenth century for work that had to resist water pressure.
The bricks themselves were made close by. The Kouda brick works in Kujira, in the southeast of what is now Shimotsuma City, opened in March 1898 and supplied the material. Its mark, three dots arranged as a triangle, is stamped into the brick. In the dry season, when the water level drops, the bricks in the bed of the channel come clear of the surface and the stamps can be picked out.
Use of the sluice ended in the 1970s when the route of the Ezure canal was changed, and the old watercourse acquired the name kyuko, the old channel, which is now part of the property's official title. The structure lost its function but kept its value, and the ground around it was laid out as a park. Repairs were carried out in 2001.
The site is outdoors, open at all hours, and free to visit. There is no entrance gate, no ticket and no fixed opening time, and photography is unrestricted. Shimotsuma City Hall is about 15 minutes away by car; the nearest railway is the Kanto Railway Joso Line, and a taxi or car is the practical means of reaching Motosodo. Volunteer guides from the Shimotsuma Iitoko Annainin no Kai lead a historical walking course that includes the sluice, arranged through the city's commerce and tourism section.
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Q&A
- Can the Ezure Irrigation Canal Old Channel Miyaura Double Sluice be visited freely?
- Yes. It stands in an open park behind Munetoo Shrine with no gate, no admission charge and no set opening hours. Photography is unrestricted.
- Where exactly is the Ezure Irrigation Canal Old Channel Miyaura Double Sluice?
- In Motosodo, Shimotsuma City, Ibaraki Prefecture, immediately behind Munetoo Shrine. It is roughly 15 minutes by car from Shimotsuma City Hall. The nearest railway is the Kanto Railway Joso Line, and a car or taxi is the practical way to reach the site.
- What makes the Ezure Irrigation Canal Old Channel Miyaura Double Sluice unusual?
- Two things. Agricultural infrastructure is rare among Japan's registered cultural properties, and this is the only brick sluice still standing on the Ezure canal, which once had many. Its central piers also have a distinctive form, drawn to a cutwater upstream and stepped downstream.
- Where did the bricks used in the Ezure Irrigation Canal Old Channel Miyaura Double Sluice come from?
- From the Kouda brick works at Kujira in present-day Shimotsuma City, which opened in March 1898. The bricks carry a stamp of three dots in a triangle, visible on the channel bed when the water level falls.
- Is the Ezure Irrigation Canal Old Channel Miyaura Double Sluice still in use?
- No. The route of the Ezure canal was altered in the 1970s and the sluice stopped functioning as a division works. It was preserved for its historical value and the surrounding ground was made into a park, with repair work carried out in 2001.
Basic Information
| Name | Ezure Irrigation Canal Old Channel Miyaura Double Sluice (Ezure Yosui Kyuko Miyaura Ryohi) |
|---|---|
| Location | Motosodo, Shimotsuma City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registration no. 08-0271), criterion: contributes to the historic landscape of the nation |
| Year Designated | 26 March 2015 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | East sluice: brick, two arched openings, 3.6 m long. West sluice: brick, two arched openings, 3.6 m long, with retaining wall. Built 1900; repaired 2001 |
| Owner | Shimotsuma City |
| Public Access | Open-air park site, freely accessible at all times, no admission charge |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties: Ezure Irrigation Canal Old Channel Miyaura Double Sluice
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010420
- Cultural Heritage Online: Ezure Irrigation Canal Old Channel Miyaura Double Sluice
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/235661
- Shimotsuma City: Registered Tangible Cultural Property, Miyaura Double Sluice
- https://www.city.shimotsuma.lg.jp/page/page001288.html
- Shimotsuma City Tourist Association: Miyaura Double Sluice
- https://www.city.shimotsuma.lg.jp/shimotsumakankomonogatari/kanko-event/page001288.html
- Joyo Living, Ibaraki Historical Walks: Miyaura Ryohi, Shimotsuma City
- https://www.joyoliving.co.jp/sp/htg/data00086.htm
Last verified: 2026.08.06