Yamato River

A river that flows westward through northern Nara Prefecture and central-southern Osaka Prefecture. It is a first-class river. It originates in the area of ​​Oaza Obu in Sakurai City in the southwest of the Yamato Plateau, flows northwestward from the southeastern corner of the Nara Basin, and merges with the Saho River near Nukatabe Minamimachi in Yamatokoriyama City. Until recently, the upstream part of the river from this confluence was called the Hasegawa River. From here, it turns westward, collecting tributaries in the basin such as the Tera River, Soga River, Tomio River, and Katsuge River, and crosses the Kamenose Gorge in the Ikoma and Kongo Mountains, which run north and south along the border between Nara and Osaka Prefectures, as a leading river, and flows into the Osaka Plain in Kashiwara City, Osaka Prefecture. Furthermore, the Ishikawa River, Higashiyoke River and other tributaries join together and flow into Osaka Bay at the border between Sakai City and Osaka City. It is 67 kilometers long. Until the Hoei era (1704-1711), the Yamato River flowed north from Kashiwara City and merged with the Yodo River northeast of Osaka Castle. Since ancient times, it has been an important route connecting the Nara Basin and the Osaka Plain, and water transportation was used, with the Nara Yana Ship and Osaka Kensaki Ship playing an active role, but they disappeared with the opening of the Osaka Railway (currently the JR Yamatoji Line) in 1892 (Meiji 25).

[Ichiro Kikuchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

奈良県北部、大阪府中南部を西流する川。一級河川。源を大和高原南西部の桜井市大字小夫(おうぶ)地先に発し、奈良盆地を南東隅から北西流し、大和郡山(こおりやま)市額田部(ぬかたべ)南町付近で佐保(さほ)川と合流する。近年までこの合流点より上流を初瀬川(はせがわ)とよんでいた。ここから西へ流路を転じ、寺川、曽我(そが)川、富雄(とみお)川、葛下(かつげ)川など盆地内の諸支流を集め、奈良、大阪の県府境を南北に走る生駒(いこま)、金剛(こんごう)両山地の亀ノ瀬(かめのせ)峡谷を先行性河川として横切り、大阪府柏原(かしわら)市で大阪平野に流入する。さらに石川、東除(ひがしよけ)川などの支流をあわせ、堺(さかい)市と大阪市の境で大阪湾に注ぐ。延長67キロメートル。宝永(ほうえい)年間（1704～1711）まで大和川は柏原市より北へ流れ、大阪城の北東部で淀(よど)川に合流していた。古来、奈良盆地と大阪平野を結ぶ重要ルートで水運が利用され、近世奈良の魚梁(やな)船、大坂剣先(けんさき)船が活躍したが、1892年（明治25）大阪鉄道（現在のJR大和路線）の開通によって姿を消した。

［菊地一郎］

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