Chikuma River

The name given to the Shinano River in Nagano Prefecture. It is a first-class river. It extends 214 km in Nagano Prefecture, with a drainage area of ​​7,163 square km. It flows out of Mount Kobushigatake on the border between Yamanashi, Saitama, and Nagano prefectures, forms the Saku, Ueda, and Nagano basins, and becomes the Shinano River when it enters Niigata Prefecture. It joins the Yukawa and Kakuma Rivers in the Saku Basin, the Yoda River and Kan River in the Ueda Basin, and the Sai River and Torii River in the Nagano Basin. The river forms a valley upstream from the Saku Basin, and has hydroelectric power plants, but in the Ueda and Nagano basins, the river is wide and has no gradient. Kawakami Village in Nagano Prefecture, located at the top of the river, is known for its highland vegetable cultivation. The three basins of Saku, Ueda, and Nagano are home to rice, carp farming, apple cultivation, and other industries, and are undergoing industrialization.

At the end of the early modern period, shipping began from Iiyama City to Matsushiro in Nagano City. It was written about as the Chikuma River in the Manyoshu, and has since appeared in many old songs. Even in modern times, it appears in the works of Shimazaki Toson's Sketches of the Chikuma River, as well as works by Shiga Naoya, Arishima Takeo, Sato Haruo, Ozaki Kihachi, and others. The dish of loach known as "Tsukeba" served on the riverbank is a seasonal sight in early summer.

[Hiroyoshi Kobayashi]

"The Chikuma River and the Shinano River" by Ichikawa Takeo (1973, Shinano Region)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

信濃川(しなのがわ)の長野県内部分の呼び名。一級河川。長野県内の延長は214キロメートル、流域面積は7163平方キロメートル。山梨・埼玉・長野の県境にある甲武信ヶ岳(こぶしがたけ)から流出し、佐久・上田・長野盆地などを形成し、新潟県に入って信濃川となる。佐久盆地では湯川と鹿曲(かくま)川、上田盆地で依田(よだ)川と神(かん)川、長野盆地で犀(さい)川、鳥居(とりい)川などと合流する。佐久盆地から上流は渓谷をなし、水力発電所もあるが、上田・長野盆地では勾配(こうばい)もなく河幅も広い。最上流部の長野県川上(かわかみ)村は高原野菜栽培で知られる。佐久・上田・長野の三盆地は米作や養鯉(ようり)、リンゴ栽培などのほか、工業化が進んでいる。

　近世末期には飯山(いいやま)市から長野市松代(まつしろ)までの通船が始まった。『万葉集』には筑摩川(ちくまがわ)として詠まれ、以来多くの古歌にみられる。近代になっても島崎藤村(とうそん)の『千曲川のスケッチ』をはじめ、志賀直哉(なおや)、有島武郎(たけお)、佐藤春夫、尾崎喜八などの作品に登場する。なお、川原での「つけば」とよばれるウグイ料理は初夏の風物詩である。

［小林寛義］

『市川健夫著『千曲川・信濃川』（1973・信濃路）』

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