Nakatoge Kudo

The Kashiwara district, which spreads to the south of the Saijo Basin, began to be cultivated under the guidance of the Hiroshima Domain in the late Edo period (1804-1818), and by the end of the Edo period, about 50 hectares of rice paddies had been created. However, Fukamichi Pond (formerly Nakano Toge Pond), which was built as a water source for the area, was slow to fill up, and the people suffered from drought. In the wake of a severe drought in 1926, local Okita Yoshiichi came up with the idea of digging a tunnel from the Odayama River to the east, over one mountain, to convey water to Fukamichi Pond, and began digging the tunnel himself the following year. Many villagers then began to cooperate, and the Nakano Toge Pass was completed on August 15, 1930. The completed pass was 327 meters long, 0.9 meters wide, and 1 to 1.2 meters high, and a reinforced concrete arch was installed at the south entrance, which was renovated in 1943. At the time, most arches at the entrance to the mine were made of stone or brick, but this one is unusual in that it was constructed using concrete, a method that became popular after the war. It was registered as a national cultural property in April 2000.