The is a river in western
Kōchi Prefecture,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. 196 km in length, it has a watershed of 2,270 km
2.
Fisheries
Since the river is remote from major cities and does not have any
dams, it is sometimes referred to as "the last clear stream of Japan".
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
and production of
nori is a thriving industry along the river.
Lack of dams
Due to lack of damming of the river, it has been named one of the "Three Free-Flowing Rivers in Japan", along with the
Nagara River in
Gifu Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...
and the
Kakita River in
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...
.
Sinking bridges
The river also has 47 , including those on its tributaries.
Chinkabashi are
low-water crossings constructed without
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
s in order not to be washed away by floods. The prefecture decided to preserve them as
cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...
.
See also
*
Yoshino River, which has similar low water crossings
References
External links
Rivers of Kōchi Prefecture
Rivers of Japan
{{Japan-river-stub