Kurobe Dam. The , or , is a  high variable-radius arch dam located on the Kurobe River in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The tallest dam in Japan, it supports the 335 MW Kurobe No. 4 Hydropower Plant and is owned by Kansai Electric Power Company. It was constructed between 1956 and 1963 at a cost of 51.3 billion yen. The project had taken the lives of 171 people by its completion.

History

In 1951, the Kansai Electric Power Company was formed to provide electric power for the Kansai region of Japan. Shortly after their formation, the area suffered from drought, which caused power rationing. The drought, along with the rapid growth of post–World War II Japan, pushed the company to increase their generating capacity. After a series of geological and hydrological studies of the Kurobe River and Gorge, it was announced in late 1955 that the Kurobe Dam would be constructed.

In July 1956, construction on the dam began. Problems quickly arose while transporting material to the construction site as only one small railway existed through the narrow gorge. Kansai decided to construct the  Kanden Tunnel under Mount Akazawa that could efficiently bring supplies from Ōmachi eastward towards the construction site. The tunnel's construction proved an arduous task as a large fracture zone in the rock was encountered which took seven months to repair. In September 1959, the first concrete for the dam was placed and by October next year, the reservoir had begun to fill.

The Kurobe No. 4 power station was built completely underground to protect it from common avalanches in the gorge and also for nature conservation purposes. By January 1961, two of Kurobe No. 4's Pelton turbines had begun operation at an initial capacity of 154 MW. In August 1962, the third turbine was in operation and by June 1963, the dam was complete at a final cost of ¥ 51.3 billion ($142.5 million (1963)). In 1973, a fourth turbine was installed and became operational; bringing the power station's production capacity to 335 MW. The fourth turbine cost ¥ 1.4 billion yen ($5 million (1973)). The first two turbines were manufactured by Voith and the last two by Japan's Hitachi. The dam initiated the development of Japan's first 275kV transmission system as well which allowed the transfer of electricity over greater distances.

Specifications

The Kurobe Dam is a  long and  high, variable-radius (dome) arch dam. The dam is  wide at its base,  wide at its crest and contains  of concrete. The dam is flanked and supported by two "wing" dams which form the abutments; the one on the left bank is  long and the right is . The dam withholds a reservoir with a capacity of  of which  is live (active or "useful") storage. The reservoir also has a catchment area of  and surface area of . The dam's spillway is located on its crest and contains 10  wide uncontrolled openings with a maximum discharge capacity of . Three other openings exist in the dam's orifice which consist of  diameter pipes, two of which can discharge a maximum of  each and the third . The dam's crest elevation is  above sea level while the reservoir's normal operating level is  and low level is considered .

The dam's power station, Kurobe No. 4, is located underground and contains four generators which are powered by Pelton turbines for a total installed capacity of 335 MW and average annual generation of 1 billion kWh. The power station is  wide,  high and  long. The penstock serving water to the power station is  long and utilizes a maximum effective hydraulic head of  while transferring a maximum of  to the turbines. The plant's surge chamber is  long and  high.

Access

The Kurobe Dam is the most popular hydropower site in Japan and, between late June and mid-October, water is released from its spillway for onlookers. The surrounding Kurobe Gorge is popular as well and is accessible by the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route.

Starting from Toyama Station, visitors can take a combination of trains, cable cars, buses, and walking to access the dam. The whole trip from Toyama Station takes roughly four hours to complete one-way, and costs around 10,000 yen($66.68 USD) in transportation fees. Various accommodations are available in Murodo area as well as near Tateyama Station, for those too tired to make the trip back down into Toyama City.

In popular culture 
The novel The Sun of Kurobe (黒部の太陽; Kurobe no Taiyō) dramatizes the construction of the dam. It was adapted into the 1968 film The Sands of Kurobe, which focuses on the perils that the construction of the dam and Kanden Tunnel entailed and other circumstances that took a high toll on human life. 

The television series Project X: Chôsensha tachi (2000-2005) was also based on the dam's construction. 

The final arc of the 2004 Tetsujin 28-go anime, which takes place in a fictionalized 1950s Japan, heavily involves the construction of the Kurobe Dam.

The 1961 kaiju film Mothra includes an action sequence filmed at the dam before its completion. Mothra's attack causes the dam to break.

Kurobe dam can be seen in the 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.

Kurobe Dam features prominently in the opening scene of the 1966 film Gamera vs. Barugon, in which Gamera attacks the facility’s hydroelectric plant to obtain energy in the form of fire. The dam itself then bursts after Gamera collides with it twice while flying away.

The 2000 action thriller Whiteout was shot in and around Kurobe Dam, renamed Okutowa Dam in the film.

The mecha anime television series Kuromukuro (2016)  is mainly set in a UN research facility located around the lake.

See also 

 Kurobe Gorge Railway
 Kurobe Senyō Railway
 List of power stations in Japan

References

External links 

 Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route official website

1963 establishments in Japan
Arch dams
Dams completed in 1963
Dams in Toyama Prefecture
Energy infrastructure completed in 1973
Hida Mountains
Hydroelectric power stations in Japan
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
Kurobe, Toyama