Kakogawa

It is the largest first-class river in the prefecture, flowing through southern Hyogo Prefecture and emptying into the Seto Inland Sea. It is 96 km long. It has 130 tributaries, large and small, including the Sasayama River, Sugihara River, Tojo River, and Minou River, and its drainage area is 1,730 square kilometers. It originates from Mount Awaka (962 meters) on the border between the Santocho district of Asago City and the Aogakicho district of Tamba City, irrigates the Hikami Basin, enters Harima, and the riverbed narrows at Toryu Nada in Kato City, but downstream it forms a vast delta that extends to Kakogawa City, Takasago City, and Harima Town. Although the river has changed course and suffered from flood damage, the riverbed slope is gentle, and in the past, Takase boats were used frequently to travel from Takasago at the mouth of the river to Hongo in Tamba City upstream. In the early modern period, water from the Kakogawa River was diverted to develop Inamino, and now Lake Tojo has been built for agricultural water, and Lake Heiso for industrial water, making the river even more useful.

[Mamoru Otsuki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

兵庫県南部を流れて瀬戸内海に注ぐ県下最大の一級河川。延長96キロメートル。支流は篠山(ささやま)川、杉原川、東条川、美嚢(みのう)川など大小130に及び、流域面積は1730平方キロメートル。朝来(あさご)市山東(さんとう)町地区と丹波(たんば)市青垣(あおがき)町地区の境界にある粟鹿山(あわがやま)（962メートル）に発し、氷上盆地を潤して播磨(はりま)に入り、加東(かとう)市の闘竜灘(とうりゅうなだ)でいったん河床が狭まるが、下流では加古川市、高砂(たかさご)市、播磨町に及ぶ広大な三角州を形成している。流路が変化し、水害に悩まされた川であるが、河床勾配(こうばい)が緩やかで、かつては河口の高砂から上流の丹波市本郷まで高瀬舟が盛んに往来した。近世の印南野(いなみの)の開拓には加古川の水が引かれ、現在は農業用水の東条湖、工業用水の平荘湖(へいそうこ)などが築かれ、利用価値はいっそう高まっている。

［大槻　守］

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