A Spring Water Place on Teshima
The Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place (唐櫃岡の清水共同用水場) is a stone communal water place built in 1929 at the foot of Mt Danyama in the Karatooka district of Teshima island, Tonosho Town, Shozu District, Kagawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 12, 2001 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a stone structure of basins, a drain and retaining walls covering 75 square metres, registration number 37-0057, owned by the temple Jurinji.
Spring Water and Island Life
According to the Shikoku Shimbun series on Kagawa places to keep for the 21st century (2001), the Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place receives a spring that flows plentifully all year on the eastern side of Mt Danyama, the island's highest peak. Forming one site with the Shimizu shrine and Shimizu Kannon hall, it was completed with a large private donation from Nakano Kisaburo, a Teshima native who prospered in the stone trade.
The paper records that each basin had its own use, from washing vegetables to rinsing laundry, and that local women met and talked here. After piped water arrived around 1963 the washing scenes faded, but the spring still irrigates the district's terraced fields, and residents take turns cleaning the site.
Value as a Registered Cultural Property
The Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place was registered as a structure that would not be easy to reproduce. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a precious structure that tells of daily life in the past.
The Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place is also part of the Japan Heritage story of the stone islands of the Bisan archipelago, as an example of how stone shaped everyday life (Setouchi Bisan Islands Japan Heritage Council).
What to Look For
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a trapezoidal plan with walls of granite laid in tiers. Spring water runs from an upper storage basin into three small basins and then a large one, each with its own use, and the overflow drains by a side channel into the town drain.
The tiered granite walls and the chain of basins, water spilling from one to the next, are the highlight of the Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Setouchi Bisan Islands Japan Heritage Council).
Visiting
The Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place is still used and cared for by local people (Shikoku Shimbun). Please keep the water clean and respect the residents who use it.
The address is 1261-1 Karato, Teshima, Tonosho Town. Teshima is reached by boat.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1929 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How does it work?
- Spring water flows from an upper basin into three small basins and a large one, each with its own use (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How was it used?
- For washing vegetables and rinsing laundry; it still irrigates terraced fields (Shikoku Shimbun).
- Who built it?
- It was completed with a donation from Nakano Kisaburo, a Teshima native in the stone trade (Shikoku Shimbun).
- When was the Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place registered?
- On October 12, 2001.
Basic Information
| Name | Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place (唐櫃岡の清水共同用水場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1261-1 Karato, Teshima, Tonosho Town, Shozu District, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2001/10/12 (Heisei 13) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Stone, with basins, drain and retaining walls, area 75 square metres |
| Owner | Jurinji (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Outdoors (a communal water place still in use) |
References
- Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002441
- Karatooka Shimizu Communal Water Place (Setouchi Stone Islands, Japan Heritage Council)
- https://stone-islands.jp/point/detail/14/
- The Stone Islands of the Bisan Archipelago (Japan Heritage Portal)
- https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/stories/story080/
- Karato Spring, Teshima (Shikoku Shimbun, in Japanese)
- https://www.shikoku-np.co.jp/feature/nokoshitai/shizen/11/
Last verified: 2026.10.12