The Last of the Line
Shimizugawa Dam No. 6 was the last of the group to be finished, completed in 1944 (Showa 19), in the middle of the war. It stands at a bend in the river, where the current would otherwise swing hard against the outer bank, and its design answers that geography directly: the spillway is set toward the right so the water is guided back into a straighter line, and a pair of rectangular drainage openings sit almost symmetrically low in the wall.
The dam is 70 metres long and 4 metres high, on the Shimizu River in the Sekigane district of Kurayoshi, Tottori Prefecture, about 180 metres below Dam No. 1. Look up from it and the distant profile of Mt. Hiruzen rises beyond the trees, the volcanic upland that gives this corner of the prefecture its horizon.
Finished as the War Ground On
The reason the dam exists reaches back a decade before it was built. The Muroto Typhoon of September 1934 flooded the Tenjin River basin, and the Home Ministry set about a programme of sabo (erosion-control) dams on the Shimizu to hold the mountain's sediment. Work ran from 1937 to 1944, and No. 6 closed the sequence, built as materials and labour were growing scarce.
Its response to the river bend is what gives it character. Rather than fight the curve, the builders shifted the overflow to one side and let the structure ease the channel back into shape, a quiet piece of hydraulic reasoning in stone. The near-symmetry of the two weep holes reads as care taken over a working detail. In 2004 the five Shimizu dams were together registered as Tangible Cultural Properties for their place in the region's historic landscape.
The River Wants to Turn
The setting is the draw as much as the stonework. Decades of replanting have brought back the forest that erosion once stripped from these slopes, and the grey masonry, offset spillway and paired openings sit inside that green with Hiruzen floating behind. Standing at the bend, you can see why the dam is shaped as it is: the river wants to turn, and the wall gently persuades it not to.
No. 6 is an outdoor structure on public land, freely visible and without admission, reached by narrow forest roads better driven than walked. The spa town of Sekigane below is a good base, and the uplands toward Hiruzen are close. Footing near the water is uneven, so check local conditions before going down for a closer look.
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Q&A
- When was Dam No. 6 built?
- It was completed in 1944 (Showa 19), the last of the five Shimizu dams and the only one finished during the war.
- Why is its spillway set to one side?
- The dam stands at a river bend. Shifting the overflow toward the right guides the current back into a straighter channel.
- What can you see from the site?
- Beyond the forest rises Mt. Hiruzen, the volcanic upland on the Tottori-Okayama border, which forms the distant skyline.
- How does it relate to the other dams?
- It sits about 180 metres below Dam No. 1, part of a chain built to control sediment on the upper Tenjin River system after the 1934 typhoon.
- Can visitors reach it?
- Yes, it is an open-air structure with no admission, though it lies in forested hills best reached by car.
Basic Information
| Name | Shimizugawa Dam No. 6 (清水川第六堰堤) |
|---|---|
| Location | Hori, Sekigane-cho, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); registered 23 July 2004 |
| Registration No. | 31-0066 |
| Completed | 1944 (Showa 19) |
| Structure | Concrete gravity dam faced in mortared stone; length 70 m, height 4.0 m |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Owner | The State (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) |
| Note | Built at a river bend with an offset spillway; the last of the group; distant view of Mt. Hiruzen |
| Access | Outdoor structure on public land; no admission; remote, reached by car |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Shimizugawa Dam No. 6
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004293
- 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