A 1929 plant office turned waterworks archive
The Shimonoseki City Waterworks Bureau Waterworks Archive Room (Former Hiyoriyama Water Purification Plant Office) is a single-storey reinforced-concrete building completed in 1929 in Nagasaki Chūōchō, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on January 16, 1998. It stands in the northeast corner of the Hiyoriyama Water Purification Plant, where it served as the plant office.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the Shimonoseki City Waterworks Bureau Waterworks Archive Room as reinforced concrete, one storey, with a building area of 86 square metres. According to the city, it was converted into the Waterworks Archive Room in 1996.
Hiyoriyama and the story of Shimonoseki's water
Modern water supply in Shimonoseki began with a survey in 1891 by the Scottish engineer William K. Burton. Takigawa Kenji, chief waterworks engineer of Osaka, designed and built the system, and water began to flow on January 1, 1906. The city counts it as the ninth modern waterworks in Japan, after Okayama.
Growth in population and demand from railways and shipping soon outran supply. Under the third expansion project, from November 1925 to February 1929, the city built Utsui No. 2 Reservoir and the Hiyoriyama plant, which took over supply to the higher parts of town while the older Takao plant served the lower districts. The office was part of that work.
Today the Shimonoseki City Waterworks Bureau Waterworks Archive Room presents the achievements of Burton, whom the city calls the father of Shimonoseki's waterworks, and the history of the city's water supply from 1906 onwards.
Why it was registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the building under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. A Water and Sewerage Bureau annual report lists it instead under the criterion of serving as a model of design; this article follows the Agency's database.
The nine Shimonoseki waterworks structures were registered as a single batch, which the city describes as the first time in Japan that a complete chain from intake to distribution was registered together. Only two of the nine are office buildings: the timber Utsui Reservoir Office of 1906 and this concrete office of 1929.
What to look for
The Hiyoriyama office is small but has plenty of character. Start with the main entrance and the windows, which are framed with curving mouldings that soften the square openings.
Then look up to the top of the walls, where a band of geometric ornament runs beneath the projecting eaves, giving the plain box a light crown. The Agency singles out these details as typical of their period.
Compare it with the 1906 Utsui Reservoir Office, a weatherboarded timber hut. The concrete building, with its cast ornament, shows how far materials and taste had moved in a little over twenty years.
Visiting the archive room
Visits to the Shimonoseki City Waterworks Bureau Waterworks Archive Room must be arranged in advance. The city asks visitors to apply to the Water and Sewerage Bureau, and lists the General Affairs Section (083-231-3121) as the contact for the archive room. Call on a municipal working day, and confirm the date, any charge and whether photography is allowed indoors when you apply (checked September 2026).
The city describes the Hiyoriyama plant as right beside Hiyoriyama Park, known for one of the best views in Shimonoseki. It sits on high ground about 1.2 kilometres northeast of JR Shimonoseki Station in a straight line, so expect an uphill walk. The plant is in operation; do not enter the grounds without an arranged visit.
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Q&A
- Can visitors see the Shimonoseki City Waterworks Bureau Waterworks Archive Room?
- Yes, by advance application. Visits are handled by the General Affairs Section of the Shimonoseki City Water and Sewerage Bureau (083-231-3121).
- What is on display at the Waterworks Archive Room?
- Material on William K. Burton, regarded as the father of the city's waterworks, and on the history of Shimonoseki's water supply since 1906.
- When was the Shimonoseki City Waterworks Bureau Waterworks Archive Room (Former Hiyoriyama Water Purification Plant Office) built?
- It was built in 1929 as the office of the new Hiyoriyama plant, and became the archive room in 1996.
- What are the architectural highlights of the Waterworks Archive Room?
- Curving mouldings around the main entrance and windows, and a band of geometric ornament under the eaves at the top of the walls, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs calls characteristic of the period.
- How do I get to the Waterworks Archive Room?
- It is inside the Hiyoriyama plant in Nagasaki Chūōchō, beside Hiyoriyama Park, on high ground about 1.2 kilometres northeast of JR Shimonoseki Station in a straight line.
Basic Information
| Name | Shimonoseki City Waterworks Bureau Waterworks Archive Room (Former Hiyoriyama Water Purification Plant Office) |
|---|---|
| Location | 7-1 Nagasaki Chuocho, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered January 16, 1998 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Reinforced concrete, single storey; building area 86 m² |
| Owner | Shimonoseki City |
| Public Access | Visits by advance application |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Waterworks Archive Room (Former Hiyoriyama Water Purification Plant Office)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000488
- Cultural Heritage Online: Waterworks Archive Room (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/136258
- Shimonoseki City: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of the Waterworks (Japanese)
- https://www.city.shimonoseki.lg.jp/site/water/5626.html
- Shimonoseki City: History of the Waterworks (Japanese)
- https://www.city.shimonoseki.lg.jp/site/water/5621.html
- Shimonoseki City: Waterworks Facilities (Japanese)
- https://www.city.shimonoseki.lg.jp/site/water/5618.html
- Shimonoseki City: Water and Sewerage Bureau Contacts (Japanese)
- https://www.city.shimonoseki.lg.jp/site/water/5619.html
- Shimonoseki Water and Sewerage Bureau: Annual Report, Public Relations and Registered Properties (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.shimonoseki.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/15622.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.27