A Dam with New Shoulders
Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 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 25.0 metres across and 5.0 metres high, and it was built on the gravel trapped by the No. 18 dam below.
Later hands have been at work on it. Both shoulders, the wing sections at either end of the wall, have been replaced in concrete. Masonry in the middle, grey cast concrete at the ends. Looking at Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 Sabo Dam is partly a matter of finding where one gives way to the other.
Why It Was Listed
Replaced shoulders did not disqualify it, because the dam is still at work in its original position. The whole slope here is one of the largest active landslides in Japan, and the structures on it are steadily pushed out of shape. Patching the damaged ends and carrying on is not a compromise of the story; it is the story of sabo work in this valley.
Sabo work on Hakusan became a directly managed national project in 1927, and this dam followed six years later, a year before the 1934 flood that killed 97 people along the Tedori River. Registration is a lighter, notification-based form of protection, separate from designation, and Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 Sabo Dam qualified as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Japan Society of Civil Engineers certified the stepped dams of this valley as a Civil Engineering Heritage site in 2004.
Where Stone Meets Concrete
The central body is mortared rubble, stone quarried in the valley and bedded with mortar. The spillway is an inverted trapezoid opening upward, and the forward-projecting coping that forms a small eave survives along its lip. That detail is confined to the earliest dams of the national works here, and this part of the wall can be taken as original.
The shoulders are a different matter: cast concrete, with a surface nothing like coursed stone. Of the 25.0 metres of span and 5.0 metres of height, how much dates from 1933 and how much came later is legible as a change in texture running down the face, visible even from some way off.
Visiting
This is a working structure and cannot be walked on, and nothing has been built beside it for visitors. Seeing Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 Sabo Dam means climbing the Sabo Shindo trail from Bettodeai and looking down where the slope opens. The contrast between stone and concrete carries at a distance better than most details here.
Nothing prohibits photography. Rebuilding and repair continue in this valley, so working sites should be given a wide berth. Directions, the seasonal car restrictions, the compulsory climbing plan and the museum in Hakumine are set out on the Jinnosuke Valley Sabo Works page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Ishikawa
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 Sabo Dam
- [ Kenrokuen Garden & Kanazawa Craft Experiences ]
Q&A
- When was Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 Sabo Dam built?
- In 1933, on the gravel trapped by the No. 18 dam immediately downstream.
- Why are the shoulders of Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 Sabo Dam concrete?
- They were replaced later. This slope is one of the largest active landslides in Japan, and damaged wing sections have been rebuilt so the dam can keep working.
- How big is Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 Sabo Dam?
- It is 25.0 metres long and 5.0 metres high.
- Can I visit Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 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. 19 Sabo Dam?
- The join between the masonry centre and the concrete shoulders, which reads as a change of texture across the face.
Basic Information
| Name | Jinnosuke Valley No. 19 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 | 25.0 metres long, 5.0 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/101/00009153
- 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
