5/5 ロン・オッター 2 years ago on Google
(Translated
by
Google)
It
is
a
100-year-old
active
lock!
The
Yokotone
River,
which
connects
the
Tone
River
and
Kasumigaura,
has
been
an
important
connecting
road
since
the
Edo
period,
connecting
towns
along
the
Kasumigaura
coast
such
as
Tsuchiura
and
towns
along
the
Tone
River
such
as
Choshi,
Sawara,
and
Fusa.
On
the
other
hand,
as
a
result
of
the
river
bed
of
the
Tone
River
rising
due
to
the
influx
of
earth
and
sand
for
many
years
and
the
eruption
of
Mt.
Asama,
flooding
occurred
frequently.
has
been
carried
out.
This
lock
is
also
a
sluice
gate
that
prevents
the
Tone
River
from
flowing
back
into
Lake
Kasumigaura
and
Kitaura
when
the
water
is
high,
and
was
constructed
as
part
of
the
repair
work
so
that
the
water
transportation,
which
was
the
main
means
of
transportation
at
the
time,
would
not
be
hindered
even
at
times
of
high
water.
It's
a
thing.
It
was
completed
in
1921,
so
it
will
be
100
years
old
this
year
(2021),
but
in
fact
it
is
still
an
active
lock,
and
it
is
operated
several
times
a
day
by
pleasure
boats
and
other
traffic
(the
peak
was
in
the
early
Showa
era).
It
is
said
that
it
was
opened
and
closed
more
than
150
times
a
day.)
It's
a
big
deal
just
because
it's
still
active,
but
it's
a
nationally
designated
important
cultural
property
because
it's
a
valuable
brick
building
from
the
Taisho
period.
Surprisingly,
however,
until
1995,
the
gates
were
manually
opened
and
closed!
1995
was
the
year
Microsoft
Win95
was
released.
Until
the
dawn
of
the
age
of
computers,
this
unreasonably
heavy
lock
gate,
which
required
even
more
force
with
water
pressure,
was
opened
and
closed
by
human
power.
(Original)
100歳の現役閘門です！
利根川と霞ヶ浦を結ぶ横利根川は、江戸時代から土浦などの霞ヶ浦沿岸の町と、銚子や佐原、布佐などの利根川水運沿いの町を結ぶ重要な連絡路でした。
一方、長年の土砂の流入や浅間山噴火の影響で利根川河床が高くなった結果、しょっちゅう氾濫を起こすようになったため、明治時代に入り外国人のお雇い技師を招いて大規模な利根川改修工事が実施されました。
この閘門も利根川が高水時に霞ヶ浦や北浦に逆流しないための水門であると共に、そんな利根川高水時でも当時主力の輸送手段だった舟運に支障を来さないよう、改修工事の一環として建設されたものです。
竣工は1921年ですので今年（2021年）で満100歳を迎えていますが、実は今だ現役の閘門であり、プレジャーボートなどの通行で一日数回稼働しています（ピークは昭和初期に一日150回以上も開閉していたそう）。
現役なだけでも大したものなのに、ここは貴重な大正期のレンガ造り現役構造物という事で国指定重文となっています。
しかし驚くべきことに、ここは1995年の補修工事までは、門の開け締めは人力で行っていました！
1995年といえば、マイクロソフトWin95が出た年です。そんなコンピューター全盛時代の幕開けの時期まで、この無茶苦茶重い上に水圧で更に力の要る閘門を、人力で開け締めしていたなんて…。
8 people found this review helpful 👍
