Using and Adapting Tachibai Water for the Local Region
Connecting the Local People to Our Area’s Resources
Tachibai Water Midori Network(Last updated 25 April 2017)

1. Introduction
Our 194-year old irrigation infrastructure, named Tachibai, conveys water, called Tachibai Water,
throughout the Seiwa-area in Mie Prefecture. A number of our ancestors led by the local leader
Nishimura Hikozaemonn (Figure 1) dammed the Kushida River (Figure 2) and constructed over
30 km of irrigation canals/channels towards to the end of the Edo-Period (early 1800s). It took
247,000 laborers and significant local investment to create Tachibai Water, with the goal todevelop new paddies and increase rice cultivation. According to stories, this investment in water
development saved the area farmers from poverty.
Tachibai Water flows out of the forest, weaves between the mountains and flatlands, branches
out to numerous large and small channels, cruises around the farmhouses, and after feeding thepaddies and fields, returns back to the Kushida River. People made use of this local water bymaking rice, washing vegetables, controlling/preventing fires, and generating electricity (startingin 1921 by Chubu Electric Power Company [Chubu Electric]). Over time, the use of this water
played a central role in forming the villages’ customs, systems, and internal relationships that
continue to protect and manage this resource. Tachibai Water nurtured various aspects ofagricultural culture and built the foundations of our agriculture and lives.

Figure 1 - Nishimura Hikozaemonn

Figure 2 – Today’s Intake on the Kushida River

Today, agricultural communities throughout Japan are now facing new challenges. Our Seiwaarea is representative of a typical rolling foothills geography. Most of the farming households are
small-scale, and industrialization and urbanization have long shifted the economic base awayfrom agriculture. Rice agriculture, in particular, is less profitable. Crop prices compete withnational and international food prices, and popularity of western cuisine has led to a significant

1decrease in domestic rice consumption. Rural areas that were previously fully dependent on
agriculture now also rely on outside, non-agriculture based incomes. The rural population is in
decline as the younger generation relocates to cities for work. The average age of a Japanese
farmer, as of year 2005, was 65. The average person today has a low awareness of the role ofwater in their communities and their lives.
As a result, the ‘trust and the spirit of cooperation (the ties/cohesiveness of the area)’ have been
deteriorating. In the past two decades, the Tachibai Water Midori Network (Tachibai Water
Land Improvement District) has felt and started to address this ongoing crisis. The Midori
Networks has focused on creating and realizing various potential uses and roles Tachibai Water
should be serving our community. This includes understanding and re-establishing the local
water’s central role in our community. The Midori Network, along with area residents, has begun
initiatives to make use of the water, not just for irrigation purposes, but more widely for use inresidents’ everyday lives and regional revitalization.

2. Management of Tachibai Water and its Local Uses and Roles
2.1 Organizational Structure of Tachibai Water Midori Network
As of 1 April 2017, the organization of Tachibai Water Midori Network consists of the following
people.
619 landowner members (429 ha ofcombined productive land)
31 representatives
12 directors

2 financial secretaries/controllers
6 water and drainage coordinators
2 full-time staff
4 administrative/office staff

2.2 Tachibai Water Infrastructure and its Operation and Maintenance1 weir intake
1.0 km of Matsuyama tributary
4.1 km of water canal – shared use
156 irrigation diversion gateswith hydropower generation
38 flood/discharge water release21.8 km of main canals
gates
The Midori Network and the Chubu Electric share responsibility for Tachibai Water’s O&M(operation and maintenance). Chubu Electric operates and maintains the Tachibai weir intake
and the initial 4.1 km of shared, multi-purpose water canal. The Midori Network is responsible
for the O&M of the infrastructure downstream of the hydropower generation plant, which
includes 21.8 km of main canals, and the 1 km Matsuyama tributary. This O&M differs
depending on whether it is during flooding or irrigation season. The 6 water and drainage
coordinators control the 38 flood release gates, while the 2 full-time staff is responsible for the
156 irrigation diversion gates.

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2.3 Various Beneficial Uses/Roles of Tachibai Water
In addition to the traditional agricultural uses, Tachibai Water just as importantly plays a role in
the following purposes.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Disaster prevention/response
Tourism and regional revitalization
Regional education and welfare
Sustenance of daily life
Small scale hydroelectric power generation
Agricultural village environmental conservation
Ecosystem conservation
Historic preservation
Agricultural village’s ties/cohesiveness and local autonomy

The “Taki-chou Seiwa-area Resources Preservation and Use Council” consisting of 22
organizations and four support organizations manages Tachibai Water under collaboration with
the Midori Network. Council activities are financed by a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, andFisheries grant/subsidy.

Figure 3 – Firefighting Training

Figure 4－ Hydrangea Festival

3国「登録記念物」・世界「かんがい施設遺産」登録

The Seiwa-area holds customary water rights to the Tachibai Water, meaning its uses havedeveloped over the years. Legalities aside, however the above nine uses of Tachibai Water can begrouped into 3 broad categories, from the local user perspective: 1) multipurpose use of thewater, 2) multipurpose use the infrastructure, and 3) multipurpose use of Tachibai Water’scultural value. The conversation around multiple beneficial uses/roles of agriculturalvillages/communities is often based on an assumption that there is an inherent potential in theland to increase agricultural production. However, in the case for agricultural water, its use by the
local people is what creates value, and hence, accepted recognition of the water’s value. People
who utilize and manage the water create and form its beneficial roles and purposes.
Some of these uses or values of Tachibai Water are described in the subsequent sections.
Disaster Prevention/Response
Tachibai Water weaves through mountains and plains, collecting water from heavy rains that fallon about 700 ha of mountainous terrain. This equates to an annual flow of 6,800,000 m3.
Tachibai Water Midori Network’s water and drainage coordinators work day and night tomanage this inflow. Tachibai Water has been also called ‘precaution water’ throughout the years
and is used as fire prevention water to protect residents’ lives and possessions. In the past 20
years, Tachibai Water has been used to fight fires for two brushfires and five house fires. In 2013,
Tachibai Water helped put out one house fire and one bushfire. 0.2 to 0.4 m3 per second of water
is diverted and maintained year round within the Tachibai Water system for the purpose of fire
prevention and environmental flow. This includes non-irrigation periods. The government, thefire company, community residents, and the Midori Network all rely on Tachibai Water for4

disaster prevention, and cooperate to implement drills and trainings for emergency situations(Figure 3). Tachibai Water flow conditions are made public on the Tachibai Water website(http://www.tachibai.jp/) and can be accessed real-time using cellphones or othercommunication devices. This information is also shared with relevant organizations/agencies
including the fire company and government agencies.
Tourism and Regional Revitalization
From 1993 to 2008, the ‘Council for a lot of hydrangeas movement’ planted hydrangeas along
the maintenance road that follows Tachibai Water canals. The council consisted of the Midori
Network and the larger Seiwa-area residents, and now, about 30,000 hydrangeas now thrivealong over 30 km of canals and surrounding rice paddies. Since 1997, the Midori Network andlocal residents have organized ‘The Land of the Leader, Hikozaemonn’s Hydrangea Festival’every June. The festival makes use of the Tachibai water infrastructure and the surrounding ricepaddies, and aims to foster and promote interaction and exchange between the agriculturalvillages and the cities. A crowd of over 10,000 visitors attend the festival.
The festival has had positive impact in the Seiwa-area, and local residents have begun businesses
that add secondary and tertiary production value to the traditional agricultural primary
production. Such value-added service businesses/initiatives include village restaurants andmarkets, which take fuller advantage of area resources and support regional revitalization.
Regional Education and Welfare
The Seiwa-area, representative of the rest of Japan, is facing challenges of an aging population,
low birth rate, and population decline. More than ever before, coordination and involvementwith schools and education have become important to maintain and preserve Tachibai Waterand our area’s water and land resources. It is important to ‘coordinate with schools/education,’and teach children to love and to be proud of their hometown. This education is the best future
investment for the area’s continued existence and development.
From very early on, Tachibai Water Midori Network has developed and taught age-appropriate
curriculum that passes down traditions to local children. For example, during graduation
ceremonies and hydrangea festivals, kindergarteners sing Tachibai Water’s song “Midori” andlearn about Tachibai Water directly through their five senses. First and second graders explore
living organisms in the biotope that is supported by Tachibai Water and grow potatoes under the
direction of local farmers. In conjunction with social studies/community studies, fourth graders
draw large pictures and learn Tachibai history by storytelling with them (Figure 5). Fifth graders
grow rice using Tachibai Water. As a part of their volunteer work, middle school students takeon the role of ship captain for the hydrangea festival’s Tachibai Water boat cruise, and they put
on a historic showcase to passengers.

5Figure 5 – Picture Storytelling

In 2013, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology recognized Seiwa
Elementary and Middle Schools as “Community Schools.” The Midori Network has embraced
this trend and began more in-depth cooperation with local schools and education. The Midori
Network is currently responsible for teaching about 50 hours of classes per year.
（http://seiwashigen.jp/omame/）
Small Scale Hydroelectric Power Generation
Since 1921, Tachibai’s agricultural water has been used in conjunction with Chubu Electric forhydropower generation. To further promote local resource use, a partnership of private industry,
Mie Prefecture, Taki-chou municipality, Midori Network, a university research lab, and TakiChou Seiwa Area Resources Conservation and Use Council has together implemented anexperimental project “Tachibai Water Small-Scale Hydropower Generation,” ongoing since 2012
(Figure 6).

Figure 6 - Power Generation Experiment

The project has two
objectives – 1) todevelop a new small, highly-efficient, and low-cost hydroelectric generation system that does not
require extensive construction, and 2) to locally consume the locally produced electricity (withoutstorage) for agricultural village revitalization purposes or for value-adding processes and local
businesses. Participation of proactive local residents has been central to find beneficial uses ofthe electricity. Active community organizations, including agricultural associations, nonprofit
organizations, and neighborhood organizations, promote holistic, integrated management and6use of Tachibai Water. These citizens groups are currently taking the initiative to fully utilize
local renewable hydropower and solar energies. These groups are revitalizing the local society byfor example, establishing value-added agricultural production, starting agricultural welfare
projects, and retackling village planning to form stronger community centers within the larger
rural community. （http://www.tachibai.jp/about/#energy）

3. The Role of the Midori Network in Utilizing Tachibai Water for Multiple
Beneficial Purposes
In 2005, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Tokai Agricultural
Administration Office recognized “Tachibai Water – Where the Hydrangeas Grow” as “Tokai’s
100 Beautiful Homelands.” In 2006, Tachibai Water was also selected as the ministry’s “100Best Canals.” The multiple uses/roles of Tachibai Water were considered to have ‘value forconservation and use,’ and the area was recognized as a Registered Monument in 2014, Japan’s
first registered agricultural water infrastructure that is still in use. The same year, Tachibai Water
was also registered as one of the world’s Heritage Irrigation Structures by the International
Commission on Irrigation and Drainage.
The realization of beneficial uses/roles generally follows this process: 1. Project planning, 2.
Alignment with Midori Network’s articles of incorporation and bylaws, and 3. Joint effort withresidents (organizing councils). Of these steps, the most important is organizing councils that
focus on holding a dialogue with residents. The Midori Network takes on the responsibility toadminister these councils, and in the past 25 years, we have organized the following councils
with local residents: ‘Council for homeland water and soil conservation measures,’ ‘Council for
local water capability enhancement measures,’ ‘Council for farm roads and murmuring brooks,’and ‘Council for a lot of hydrangeas movement (Figure 7).’ Today, the Taki-Chou Seiwa Area
Resources Conservation and Use Council presides over these individual councils and brings
together the 10 Seiwa area villages into one collective. Since 2007, this council has been actively
engaged in ‘agricultural land, water, and environment conservation initiatives’ using funding
provided under the national Direct Payment System (Figure 8).
The Midori Network directly manages and is the most familiar with the area’s water and soil
resources. Involvement of Midori Network in the community brings ease and assurance to thearea’s people who would also like to actively use, conserve, and manage our resources. And bykeeping the Midori Network grounded within the area residents, the people understand thereason for its existence, which in turn energizes and invigorates the Midori Network’s operations.
Looking back these past 25 years, local initiatives have contributed greatly to re-strengthening
the previously-diminishing bond within the area, and have increased the cooperative capacity of
the local community. Through engagement and involvement of many people, the use of local
water is becoming increasingly sophisticated.

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Figure 8 – Taki-chou Seiwa Area Resources
Conservation and Use Council

Figure 7 – Hydrangea Festival Council

4. Conclusion – the importance of an active community –Agriculture and agricultural villages’ multiple beneficial roles/uses were extensively debatednationally as a part of a larger discussion of measures and policies to improve Japan’s Less
Favored Areas. The Japanese Direct Payment System was developed as a way to support theseLess Favored Areas and provides compensation according to area of agricultural land. Thissystem is still in place, and the productivity potential of agricultural land continues to be thecriteria for subsidies/grants to this day.
However, agricultural water is simultaneously irrigation water as well as regional water.
Evaluation of water’s beneficial uses/roles focuses on irrigation purposes, but the definition of
beneficial uses/roles should be expanded to include these potential regional uses and to reflect
the local area’s unique history and the lives of the local people.
Further, national studies on multiple beneficial uses/roles report its economic value in term of
million or billion yens, but it is difficult to see how such a number applies or is relevant to us on
the ground. Instead of using a third-person, monetary measure, Japan needs to recognize, value,and evaluate other parameters or indicators that are closer to the everyday person. Such relatablediscussions and evaluations will further strengthen our awareness and encourage us to think
about what is truly valuable and needs to be protected.
Reflecting on the management of Tachibai Water and the activities of the Tachibai Water Midori
Network, it is clear that multiple beneficial uses/roles do not simply appear, evident for us to see.
Instead, uses and roles are something that people nurture and develop. It is about people’s
relationship to our water. And these uses/roles multiply on itself the more that people use it.
After all, people naturally tend to care about what they nurture and rely on.
These ideas additionally align with the following components of the national Regional
Revitalization strategy: 1. The realization of multiple beneficial functions, 2. Development of a8

self-sustaining society, 3. Harmonization with the regional environment, and 4. Cultivation of theregional community. These four components are also characteristics of integrated and holistic
water use. Water’s role must be multifaceted, varied, living, and viable.
Today, agriculture and agricultural villages are increasingly expected to evolve their systems byhaving each system serve multiple roles and uses. Within this environment, the role of theMidori Network is to directly manage the foundations of all systems: the local water, soil, andhomeland resources. Instead of just simply fulfilling the traditional role of natural resourcesmanagers, the Midori Network should redefine their positions as the ‘coordinators that connect
people to their regional resources.’ People are the ones that use and develop new values andcapabilities of the area resources for their daily lives.
Ensuring Midori Networks act as local coordinators will be an important next step. New national
policies, evaluation criteria, and recognition would be also needed. This societal recognition willallow Midori Networks to confidently continue and improve ‘local resources management andconservation’ for the public good into the next generation.

Terms and Definitions
Direct Payment System – a global standard, in which the government supports agriculture by anon-production, income based system. Since 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan provides direct payments also for activities that
support maintenance or realization of various roles/uses/purposes of agricultural
infrastructure, such as irrigation canals, agricultural roads, and water detention ponds.
Land Improvement Districts – public corporations established by the 1949 Land
Improvement Law. Districts can be formed when 15 or more farmers jointly want toimplement farmland improvement projects, such as constructing and maintaining
irrigation and drainage facilities, with support from the prefectural government. The
Land Improvement Law was revised in 2001 to encourage more holistic
management by better integrating needs of locals and the area environment inaddition to infrastructural needs. Project can be funded by the prefecture, local
municipalities, or by the Districts themselves from membership fees.
Less Favored Areas –agricultural land that is less productive due to natural conditions, such as
hilly or mountainous areas that limit field sizes. These areas are provided specificsupport under the Direct Payment System.
Midori Network – colloquial name for Land Improvement District. Written 水土里ネット, thisis a play on words. “Midori” means “green” while it is written with characters thatsignify water, soil, and homeland.
Regional Revitalization – activities, projects, programs, and policies that aim to improve ruralarea economies, increase rural populations, and re-energize its inhabitants.

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