is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

in Tenryū,

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, completed in 1951. It is located on the

Tenryū River The is a river in central Honshū, Japan. With a length of , it is Japan's ninth longest river. Its source is Lake Suwa in the Kiso Mountains near Okaya, Nagano, Okaya in Nagano Prefecture. It then flows through Aichi Prefecture and western Shi ...

upstream from the

Sakuma Dam The is a dam on the Tenryū River, located on the border of Toyone, Kitashitara District, Aichi Prefecture on the island of Honshū, Japan. It is one of the tallest dams in Japan and supports a 350 MW hydroelectric power station. Nearby a ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

held at Tokyo #2D (

Mitsushima Mitsushima, also known as Matsushima, Tokyo No. 2 Detached Camp, Tokyo #3B, and Tokyo 20, was a prisoner of war camp that provided labour to build the Hiraoka Dam on the Tenryū River in the Central Highlands in Japan. Tatsuo Tsuchiya (also know ...

) Prisoner of War Camp provided labour to build the penstock tunnel to the powerstation, collect aggregate, and mix cement for the construction of the dam between November 1942 and August 1945. Fifty seven prisoners died from diseases relating to poor sanitary, diet, and climate conditions.

References

Dams in Nagano Prefecture Dams completed in 1951 Gravity dams {{Nagano-geo-stub

See also

References