The Highest Weir on the River
Follow the Shimizu River up into the hills above Kurayoshi and Dam No. 5 is the last of the old stone weirs you reach, the highest of the group on the river, set where the valley narrows and the forest closes in. It is a long, low structure: 63 metres from bank to bank but only 4 metres high, a broad grey wall of coursed stone laid across a stream that here runs shallow and fast. Completed in 1939 (Showa 14), it anchors the upstream end of a chain of erosion-control dams built along this short mountain river.
Below the main wall sits a second, smaller apron dam, a sub-dam (fuku-entei) meant to break the fall of overflowing water and keep it from scouring the riverbed, flanked by stone revetment along the banks. The spillway corners are cut back on a one-to-one batter, a slope the builders called ichiwari-nori, which lets the structure shed high water cleanly.
Sand-Guarding After the Storm
The Shimizu dams belong to a wave of public works that followed the Muroto Typhoon of September 1934, when floodwaters ravaged the Tenjin River basin. The Home Ministry answered with sabo engineering, erosion control, literally sand-guarding, building dams to trap the gravel and silt that a bare, storm-torn hillside sends downstream. Work along the Shimizu ran from 1937 to 1944; No. 5, finished in 1939, holds the top of the sequence.
What makes the upstream position tell is the setting around it. The slopes here were once stripped by erosion; decades of replanting have brought back a deep green canopy, and the stone face of the dam, weathered and lichened, sinks into that recovered forest instead of interrupting it. That quality, a piece of hard 1930s engineering that has grown into its landscape, is why the five dams were registered as Tangible Cultural Properties in 2004.
Watching the System Work
Because No. 5 sits highest, the water above it is clear and cold, and the pool held behind the low wall mirrors the trees on a still morning. The one-to-one corners of the spillway give the crest a faintly stepped profile; the sub-dam below breaks the flow into a second, quieter drop. It is a good place to see how the whole system was meant to work, one dam handing the water down to the next.
The dam stands in open forest on public land, with no gate or fee, but it lies deep in mountain country reached by narrow roads, and it is the least easy of the group to approach. The spa town of Sekigane below makes a comfortable base, and the uplands toward Mt. Hiruzen are close by. Riverside footing is uneven, so check local conditions before walking in.
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Q&A
- Where does Dam No. 5 sit among the Shimizu River dams?
- It is the uppermost of the group, holding the top of the sequence, about one kilometre above Dam No. 1.
- What is a sub-dam (fuku-entei)?
- A smaller apron dam built just downstream of the main wall. It breaks the fall of overflowing water so the riverbed below is not scoured away.
- When was it built, and how big is it?
- It was completed in 1939 (Showa 14) and measures 63 metres long by 4 metres high, with stone revetment along the banks.
- Why does the dam blend so well into the forest?
- The hillsides here were once bared by erosion. Decades of replanting restored the green cover, and the weathered stone face has settled into it.
- Is it hard to reach?
- It is the most remote of the five, deep in forested hills on narrow roads. There is no admission, but a car and local guidance help.
Basic Information
| Name | Shimizugawa Dam No. 5 (清水川第五堰堤) |
|---|---|
| Location | Hori, Sekigane-cho, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); registered 23 July 2004 |
| Registration No. | 31-0064 |
| Completed | 1939 (Showa 14) |
| Structure | Concrete gravity dam faced in mortared stone, with sub-dam and revetment; length 63 m, height 4.0 m |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Owner | The State (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) |
| Access | Outdoor structure on public land; no admission; uppermost and most remote of the group |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Shimizugawa Dam No. 5
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004291
- Cultural Heritage Online — Cultural Properties of Kurayoshi City, Tottori
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/region/31/31203
- MLIT, River Data Book — Tenjin River System
- https://www.mlit.go.jp/river/toukei_chousa/kasen/jiten/nihon_kawa/0711_tenjin/0711_tenjin_01.html
- MLIT — Sabo (Erosion and Sediment Control)
- https://www.mlit.go.jp/river/sabo/index.html
Last verified: 2026.07.05