The is a long river that flows through
Saitama Prefecture
is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...
and
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. Its average flow in 2002 was 30 m
3/s.
It originates on
Mount Kobushi in
Saitama Prefecture
is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...
, and empties into
Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...
.
It has a total
catchment area of .
The river is one of Tokyo's major sources of
tap water
Tap water (also known as running water, piped water or municipal water) is water supplied through a Tap (valve), tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used f ...
, and together with the
Tone River
The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano River) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the ...
, accounts for around 80% of Tokyo's water supply as of 2018. The
Okubo water purification plant takes water from the river.
History
Attempts to control flooding of the Arakawa River have been made since the area that is now Tokyo became the de facto capital of Japan during the
Edo period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
. Following a major flood in 1910 that damaged a large part of central Tokyo, a long drainage canal was constructed between 1911 and 1924. In 1996 an agreement was signed to make it a "sister river" of the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
in the eastern United States.
[ This means that officials and volunteers from both river areas collaborate with each other.]
In popular culture
This river is also depicted in many anime such as ''Toaru Kagaku no Railgun'' and ''Arakawa'' ''Under the'' ''Bridge'', which is set on the riverbank.
The Arakawa plays a small but significant background role in the game '' Yakuza 4''. Main character Masayoshi Tanimura spends the game trying to discover who murdered his father, Taigi, whose body was dumped in the Arakawa after he was killed.
See also
*Sumida River
The is a river that flows through central Tokyo, Japan. It branches from the Arakawa River at Iwabuchi (in Kita-ku) and flows into Tokyo Bay. Its tributaries include the Kanda and Shakujii rivers.
It passes through the Kita, Adachi, Arak ...
*''Arakawa Under the Bridge
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura (manga artist), Hikaru Nakamura. The manga was first serialized in the Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Young Gangan'' from December 2004 to July 2015. An anime t ...
'', is an anime set under a bridge on the river.
References
External links
*
Rivers of Saitama Prefecture
Rivers of Tokyo
Rivers of Japan
{{Japan-river-stub