Directly Above the No. 13 Dam
Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam is an erosion-control dam of 1933 in the middle reaches of the Jinnosuke Valley at Hakumine, Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture, listed on 23 February 2012 as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. It is 33.0 metres across and 5.5 metres high, and it rests on the gravel trapped by the No. 13 dam below it.
Of the eleven stepped dams in this valley, these two sit closest together. Stand where the No. 13 dam faces you and Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam appears just behind and above it, one wall layered over another. If you want to understand what building a staircase of dams actually means, this is the pair to look at.
Why It Was Listed
The year 1933 falls six years after sabo work on Hakusan passed to the national government in 1927, and one year before the flood of 1934 that killed 97 people along the Tedori River. Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam came through that flood and remains in its original position, still working. It was listed as a structure that carries the construction technique of the early national scheme.
Registration is a notification-based form of protection, lighter than and separate from designation. The dam qualified as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. In 2004 the Japan Society of Civil Engineers certified the stepped dams of the Jinnosuke Valley as a Civil Engineering Heritage site.
The Spillway and Its Eave
The body is mortared rubble, local stone bedded with mortar in the joints. The spillway is an inverted trapezoid opening upward, and the coping along its lip projects forward a little to throw the falling water clear of the face. The detail is confined to the earliest dams of the national works on this mountain.
At 33.0 metres it spans wider than the No. 13 dam below, while matching it at 5.5 metres high. Looked at from below, the sequence reads as one form repeated with its width adjusted step by step as the valley narrows and widens.
Visiting
Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam is a working structure and cannot be walked on. Nothing has been built beside it for visitors. Seeing it means taking the Sabo Shindo trail from Bettodeai and looking down where the slope opens. Because it sits directly above the No. 13 dam, finding one means finding both.
Nothing prohibits photography. The slope here is one of the largest active landslides in Japan, repair work is close to continuous, and the streambed is not somewhere to descend to. Directions, seasonal car restrictions, the compulsory climbing plan and the museum in Hakumine are covered on the Jinnosuke Valley Sabo Works page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Ishikawa
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam
- [ Kenrokuen Garden & Kanazawa Craft Experiences ]
Q&A
- When was Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam built?
- In 1933, the year before the 1934 flood on the Tedori River.
- Where is Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam?
- In the middle reaches of the Jinnosuke Valley at Hakumine, Hakusan City, built on the gravel trapped by the No. 13 dam below.
- How big is Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam?
- It is 33.0 metres long and 5.5 metres high, wider in span than the No. 13 dam and the same height.
- Can I visit Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam?
- There are no opening hours or fees and the dam cannot be walked on. The public approach is the Sabo Shindo trail from Bettodeai.
- What should I look for at Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam?
- The way it layers directly above the No. 13 dam. Seen together, the two show exactly how a staircase of dams was built.
Basic Information
| Name | Jinnosuke Valley No. 14 Sabo Dam |
|---|---|
| Location | Hakumine, Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2012/02/23 (Heisei 24) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | 33.0 metres long, 5.5 metres high |
| Owner | Ishikawa Prefecture |
| Public Access | Working structure in the open; distant views from the trail only |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009150
- Kanazawa River and National Highway Office: Fifteen Facilities Listed as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties
- https://www.hrr.mlit.go.jp/kanazawa/hakusansabo/03history/touroku.html
- Kanazawa River and National Highway Office: History of the Hakusan Sabo Project
- https://www.hrr.mlit.go.jp/kanazawa/hakusansabo/03history/history01.html
- Kanazawa River and National Highway Office: Civil Engineering Heritage Certification
- https://www.hrr.mlit.go.jp/kanazawa/hakusansabo/03history/isan01.html
- Ishikawa Prefecture: Traffic Restrictions during the Hakusan Climbing Season
- https://www.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp/hakusan/tozaninf/peak2.html
- Ishikawa Prefecture: Mandatory Submission of Climbing Plans for Hakusan
- https://www.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp/bousai/bousai_g/hakusan_kazan/jorei.html
Last verified: 2026.09.17
