Turbulent Streams: An Environmental History of Japan’s Rivers, 1600–1930

308 Pages·2021·28.95 MB·English

by  Roderick I. Wilson

Turbulent Streams
Brill’s Japanese Studies Library
Edited by
Joshua Mostow (Managing Editor)
Caroline Rose
Kate Wildman Nakai
Sven Saaler
volume 68
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bjsl
Turbulent Streams
An Environmental History
of Japan’s Rivers, 1600–1930
By
Roderick I. Wilson
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover illustration: Fisher with a yotsude net on the Tone River (top). Katsushika Hokusai, “Sōshū Tonegawa,”
Chie no umi (Publisher unknown, 1834–36). Courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Steamboat
on the Yodo River approaching Osaka’s Yoshiya Bridge (bottom). Nomura Yoshikuni, “Ōsaka Ashiya-bashi
jōki shuppan,” in Keihan meisho zue (Kyoto: Ikeda Fusajirō, 1885). Courtesy of the National Diet Library,
Tokyo.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wilson, Roderick I. (Roderick Ike), author.
Title: Turbulent streams : an environmental history of Japan’s rivers,
 1600–1930 / by Roderick I. Wilson.
Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2021] | Series: Brill’s Japanese
 studies library, 0925–6512 ; 68 | Includes bibliographical references
 and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021011062 (print) | LCCN 2021011063 (ebook) | ISBN
 9789004433014 (hardback) | ISBN 9789004438231 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: River engineering—Japan—History. | River
 engineering—Government policy—Japan. | Riparian areas—Japan—History.
 | Riparian areas—Management—Government policy—Japan. | Tone River
 (Japan) | Yodo River (Japan) | Japan—Environmental conditions.
Classification: LCC TC505 .W55 2021 (print) | LCC TC505 (ebook) | DDC
 627/.1209520903—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021011062
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021011063
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
ISSN 0925-6512
ISBN 978-90-04-43301-4 (hardback)
ISBN 978-90-04-43823-1 (e-book)
Copyright 2021 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Hotei, Brill Schöningh, Brill Fink,
Brill mentis, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Böhlau Verlag and V&R Unipress.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior written permission from the publisher. Requests for re-use and/or translations must be
addressed to Koninklijke Brill NV via brill.com or copyright.com.
This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
List of Figures and Tables xi
Note to Readers xiv
Introduction 1
1 A Riparian History of Ogura Lake 3
2 Crossing the River between Nature and Society 10
3 Riparian Relations: An Expanded Understanding of Rivers 25
4 Chapter Organization 37
Part 1
Regional River Regimes in the Tokugawa Period
1 Riparian Relations in the Kantō Region 43
1 Producing the Kantō Region and Its Riverscapes during the
Seventeenth Century 51
1.1 The Shifting Riverscapes of the Lower Tone River 51
1.2 The Role of Rivers 60
1.3 The Role of Riparian Assemblages 62
2 Water Worlds of Farmers, Fishers, and Boat Pilots 71
2.1 Riverboats 73
2.2 Rural Riverports 76
2.3 River Fishing Villages 85
3 Conclusion 88
2 The Kantō River Regime under the Tokugawa Government 91
1 Establishing Tokugawa Governance over the Waters of the Kantō
Region, 1590–1700 95
2 Maintaining Riparian Governance in the Kantō Region,
1700–1783 104
3 Losing Ground against Continued Flooding, 1783–1868 114
4 Conclusion 120
vi Contents
Part 2
Techno-politics of River Engineering in Imperial Japan
3 Engineering and River Engineers in the Age of Imperialism 125
1 The Home Ministry’s Early Riparian Policies 131
2 The Fudō River Worksite 135
3 Dutch Engineers in Japan 139
4 Educating Japanese Engineers: The French Connection 150
5 Conclusion 156
4 Confluence along the Yodo River 163
1 The Yodo River 166
2 Home Ministry Engineers 172
3 Local Communities 183
4 Conclusion 195
5 Constructing the Modern River Regime in Japan 196
1 Making Modern River Regimes 197
2 Techno-politics of Flood Control 205
3 The 1910 Flooding of Tokyo and Paris 219
4 The Effects of Building Japan’s Modern River Regime 225
5 Conclusion 238
Epilogue 241
Bibliography 253
Index 282
Acknowledgments
Like a long river, many a meander have contributed to the writing of this book.
The first of those meanders and likely one of several later inspirations was the
creek, a fork of the South Umpqua River, that ran through my grandparent’s
farm in southern Oregon where, during our seasonal visits to help move irriga-
tion pipe, bale hay, and cut wood, I spent hours and days with my sister and
cousins tromping along its wooded banks, swimming in its deeper parts, and
catching crawdads. That creek taught me a lot without my realizing how much
I was learning. It was not until I arrived at Portland State University, however,
that I realized creeks and rivers and the places through which they flow also
have histories. At PSU, I also began to study Japanese (with my friends Thomas
James and David Burgess) under the wonderful instruction of Larry Kominz,
Suwako Watanabe, and Patricia Wetzel. It was thanks to Linda Walton that
I discovered my passion for history (and changed my major from engineering!)
and to Noriko Aso that I learned the rudiments of Japanese history and the
meaning of historiography.
It was another meander through the JET Program that took me to teach
English for the Board of Education in the mountainous town of Haruno (now
part of Hamamatsu City) in Shizuoka Prefecture. There, the Keta River, a fork
of the Tenryū River, and numerous friends (too many to list here) taught me
about a very different riparian culture of broad rocky floodplains, a history of
running logs to downstream lumbermills, fishing for ayu, kayaking, hanami
on the levees under the cherry trees, an annual festival commemorating the
two dragons that had in the distant past prevented the breaching of a local
levee, and hot and humid summers punctuated by late afternoon downpours
and the heavy rains of an occasional typhoon. Having studied Japanese and
about Japan both in the classroom and by living in a small community for three
years, I felt prepared for graduate school. Fortunately, Jeffrey Hanes and the
late Peggy Pascoe at the University of Oregon felt the same way. As the Director
of Graduate Studies in the Department of History, Peggy led us new graduate
students through a rigorous first-year program where I first learned much of
the historian’s craft that I continue to rely on to this day and try to share with
my own graduate students. For his part, Jeff proved to be equal parts mentor
and mensch and whose ability to tell a story on paper and in the classroom are
a continuing inspiration.
After earning a master’s degree in modern Japanese history at Oregon, I was
accepted into the PhD program at Stanford University. It was in the relatively
dry California climate of the Stanford campus that this book about rivers in
viii Acknowledgments
Japan began to take shape as a dissertation. During my time at Stanford, I was
truly fortunate to have benefited from the generosity of so many including
from the late Jeffrey Mass who provided me with a grasp of the longue durée
of ancient and medieval Japanese history, from the late Mark Peattie who
imparted an understanding of the multiple dimensions of the Japanese empire
and imperialism, and from the late John Wirth who introduced me to the mul-
tiple environmental histories of the Americas. I also began to translate my con-
cerns about recent ecological changes into environmental history through a
graduate seminar taught by Richard White and a reading group that grew out
of that seminar with my friends Matthew Booker, John Broich, Erika Monahan,
and Lise Sedrez. Gi-wook Shin instructed me in the complexities and contra-
dictions within modern Korean history and society. In courses on Japanese
history taught by Peter Duus and Kären Wigen, I gained a wealth of knowl-
edge and appreciation for good arguments and compelling histories within my
chosen field of study. Both in and outside those courses, I also benefited from
the advice, shared meals and parties, and overall camaraderie of Catherine
Bae, Alex Bay, Kenji Hasegawa, Michael Foster, Michiko Suzuki, Reiko Shinno,
Ethan Segal, and Bob Tierney. Above all, I would like to give special thanks
Peter, Kären, and Richard who all served on my dissertation committee, read
multiple drafts of each chapter, wrote countless letters of recommendation on
my behalf, and displayed an uncommon understanding as I extended my time
in Japan to the point that they likely thought I may never return.
Often a short and straight-forward period spent in the archives, my disser-
tation research in Japan became another meander from which this book and
my broader knowledge about Japan have benefited immensely. Thanks to his
characteristic kindness and generosity, Jinnai Hidenobu at Hōsei University
ensured that I had both a place to work and a community with which to share
my research. While a visiting researcher in the Laboratory of Regional Design
with Ecology (Eco-ken) that Professor Jinnai founded, I had the unique oppor-
tunity to participate in the organization’s many research and outreach activi-
ties including helping to curate museum exhibits about Tokyo’s water history
for the International Architectural Biennale in Rotterdam, Netherlands and
the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo. I also owe much to Takamura Masahiko at
Hōsei University who turned out be both a trusted mentor and good friend.
I learned a great deal from my fellow Jinnai-ken graduate students and good
friends Iwaki Yasunobu and Onda Shigenao with whom I spent countless
hours talking about our various separate and joint research projects. I also
owe a deep debt of gratitude to Yoshida Nobuyuki at Tokyo University who
first invited me to participate in his kuzushiji course and thereafter in research
activities with Itō Takeshi at Tokyo University and the Center for Urban History
Acknowledgments ix
(Toshi-shi Kenkyū Sentā) that they established and administered together.
Special thanks also to Matsuyama Megumi and Takenouchi Masato who have
always been generous in sharing their knowledge about Edo-Tokyo history and
their friendship continues beyond our many conversations and meals together
at Tokyo University’s Hongō campus. Finally, I also want to thank Miyamura
Tadashi and Nanba Kyōsuke for letting me participate in meetings of the
Kasen-gaku (River School) as well as Patricia G. Sippel and her husband Bill
Steele for their encouragement and kindness during my years in Tokyo and on
visits after I returned to the United States. I was fortunate to be able to stay in
Japan for as long as did thanks to the generous support of a Fulbright Graduate
Research Fellowship, a Mellon Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, and the
Hōsei University International Fellowship.
I have taught at two universities where this book and my career have ben-
efited greatly in different ways. At the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater,
I learned much of what I know about university-level teaching due to a heavy
class-load and wonderful colleagues who each brought their own strengths
and personalities to our small department. Thank you to Mark Bolton, Bert
Kreitlow, Emma Kuby, James Levy, Molly Patterson, Tony Gulig, Jennifer
Thibodeaux, and Jeff Zalar. While living in Madison and teaching an hour away
in Whitewater as a single parent of two energetic boys, I am also forever grate-
ful to my friends Jim Feldman, Kimberly and David Wasserman, Mila Yasko
and John Wedge whose help with childcare and carpools to soccer practice
constantly reminded me of how it often takes a community to raise a family.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I have also been lucky
to be part of a thriving and caring academic community where most of this
book was written. With my appointment in both the Department of History
and the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures as well as my affili-
ation with the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, I cannot possibly men-
tion everyone at Illinois whose collegiality and encouragement have played a
role in this book’s publication, but I would like give special thanks to Ronald
Toby for his careful reading of chapters and continuous support and to Craig
Koslofsky, who as my faculty mentor, has guided me through the publica-
tion process. My deepest gratitude also goes to Clare Crowston, Dana Rabin,
and Bob Tierney, who as the leaders of my respective departments at differ-
ent points in time, for their compassion and understanding when I needed to
pause my tenure clock in order to take care of first my mom and then my dad
before they passed away. I also appreciate the assistance of Bailey Albrecht at
an early stage in the writing and to Wataru Morioka for making the maps used
throughout the book. Steven Witt, a Japanese Studies specialist and Head of
the International and Area Studies Library, ensured that I had access to many
x Acknowledgments
of the books and other sources that are cited in following pages. Finally, I can-
not say thank you enough for the friendship and healthy distraction offered by
Tariq Ali, Ikuko Asaka, Marc Hertzman, Jeff Martin, Mauro Nobili, Gian Piero
Persiani, and John Randolph as we shared meals, drinks, gardening tips, and
the ever-unpredictable performance of the Portland Timbers. At Illinois, I also
benefited immensely from a semester release from teaching duties thanks to
a Faculty Fellowship from the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities
and a NEAC Japan Studies Travel Grant from the Association of Asian Studies.
At various workshops and conferences where I presented portions of
the research that appears in this book, I learned much and benefited from
comments, feedback, and encouragement from Raja Adal, Phillip Brown,
Eric Dinmore, David Howell, Ian Miller, Hiromi Mizuno, Jordan Sand, Matt
Sterenberg, Brett Walker, Mike Wert, Paul Waley, and Michael Wood. At Brill,
I have been fortunate to work with both Inge Klompmakers and Patricia
Radder who were always quick and supportive in response to my questions
and concerns while revising the manuscript. Special thanks also to those who
reviewed and commented anonymously on the manuscript for Brill and espe-
cially to Amy Reigle Newland for patiently and carefully copy editing the entire
manuscript. Their collective advice has much improved both the arguments
and prose herein and whatever weaknesses remain owe entirely to me.
I am also indebted to my friends and family who have over the years encour-
aged, cajoled, and always supported me in pursuit of my career as an educator
and historian and the completion of “the book.” First, I would like to thank my
wonderful aunt Nancy Webb who worked for most of her career as a writer and
editor at the children’s magazine Weekly Reader and encouraged me from a
young age to observe the world around me and have confidence in my writing.
Many thanks also to David Stone and his wife Rebecca, my sister Amy Hay and
hear husband Gary, cousins Ken Thomas and his wife Pati, Bob Thomas, and
Laura Smith and her late husband Casey, and Joe Russo and his wife Maria.
Sadly, the recent passing of my parents Susan and Iven Wilson and mother-in-
law Joan Bergmark mean that they never had the opportunity to share in the
sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing one’s first book. For that,
I am lucky and grateful for the humor and encouragement of my father-in-
law Gary Bergmark and his partner Brian Daggett. Thank you also to my sons
Joe and Tye as well as Martin and Declan whose patience and understanding
has in the recent years shifted to urging me on with regular cheers of “ganba!”
and “good luck!” And, finally, there are not words enough to express my appre-
ciation and affection to my wife Jennifer Bergmark, who despite the turbulent
stream of the world around us, has brought so much love and light into our
lives. It is to Jen that I dedicate this book.