Ochigata - Ochigata

This lagoon was located in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture. In 1968 (Showa 43), national reclamation work was completed, leaving only 1.5 square kilometers of water, with the rest being rice paddies. Before reclamation, it was a freshwater lake measuring 4.65 square kilometers and 1.8 meters deep (7.87 square kilometers in the mid-Taisho period), and carp, crucian carp, and smelt were caught there. Located in the Ochigata Graben Valley, the Nagaso River, Iiyama River, and other rivers deposited sediment, which was discharged into the Sea of ​​Japan via the Hakui River, but it was often flooded and suffered from salt damage. It was also a habitat for the Japanese crested ibis, an internationally protected bird. It is also called Chijigata, Hishiko, and Orochigata, and there is a legend that Okuninushi-no-Mikoto defeated a giant snake in the lagoon. Reclamation of the area began in the Edo period, and the lagoon's seaweed has been used as fertilizer. As of 2012, the remaining water surface is approximately 0.8 square kilometers.

[Takao Yagasaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

石川県羽咋市(はくいし)にあった潟湖(せきこ)。1968年（昭和43）国営の干拓工事が完了し、残存水面は1.5平方キロメートルとなり、他は水田となっている。干拓前は4.65平方キロメートル、水深1.8メートル（大正中期は面積7.87平方キロメートル）の淡水湖で、コイ、フナ、ワカサギなどが漁獲された。邑知潟地溝帯に位置し、長曽(ながそ)川、飯山(いのやま)川などが土砂を堆積(たいせき)させ、羽咋川で日本海に排出していたが、よく冠水し、塩害も受けた。国際保護鳥であるトキの生息地でもあった。千路潟(ちじがた)、菱湖(ひしこ)、大蛇潟(おろちがた)ともいわれ、大国主命(おおくにぬしのみこと)が潟の大蛇を退治した伝説がある。干拓は江戸時代より行われ、潟の藻(も)を肥料に利用してきた。2012年（平成24）の残存水面は約0.8平方キロメートル。

［矢ヶ崎孝雄］

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