Nobidome Irrigation Canal

This irrigation canal was located in Nobidome, Niiza City, in southern Saitama Prefecture. It was also called Izudonobori. Matsudaira Izunokami Nobutsuna, the lord of Kawagoe Castle, established the Shinden settlement in Nobidome in 1653 (Shoo 2), but because the groundwater in this area was deep, drinking water and water for daily life were in short supply. For this reason, when the Tamagawa Aqueduct, which drew water from the Tamagawa River to provide drinking water for Edo, was completed in 1655 (Meireki 1), he obtained permission from the shogunate to divert water and ordered his vassal Yasumatsu Kin'emon to dig a 24-kilometer-long irrigation canal that drew water near Ogawa Village, Tama County (present-day Kodaira City, Tokyo) and emptied into the Shingashi River. This irrigation canal had been used for about 300 years, but water diversion was stopped in 1973 due to pollution caused by urbanization. However, as part of a clean stream restoration project, partial water flow was restored in 1984 after an 11-year hiatus.

[Masatami Nakayama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

埼玉県南部、新座市(にいざし)野火止にあった用水。伊豆殿堀(いずどのぼり)ともよばれた。川越(かわごえ)城主松平伊豆守(いずのかみ)信綱(のぶつな)は1653年（承応2）野火止に新田集落をつくったが、この付近は地下水が深いので、飲料水や生活用水が不足した。このため、多摩川から江戸の飲料水として引いた玉川上水が1655年（明暦1）完成したのを機に、幕府から分水の許可を得て、家臣安松金右衛門(きんえもん)に命じ、多摩郡小川村（現、東京都小平(こだいら)市）付近で取水し、新河岸(しんがし)川に落ちる流長24キロメートルの用水を開削させた。以来約300年間利用されてきたこの用水は、都市化による汚染のため1973年（昭和48）分水が止められたが、清流復活事業により1984年、11年ぶりに一部通水が復活した。

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