Uryu water pipes
dai ichi and monument
inside dai-ichi
Okenji shrine
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In the first
half of the twentieth century Japan was rapidly expanding its presence
on Hokkaido with the intention of precluding Russian influence in the
area. It was at this same time that Japan invaded several of its Asian
neighbors.
.....
Poured between a myriad of intertwining ravines in
northwestern Hokkaido, Lake Shumarinai is the largest artificial body
of water in Japan. Forested with thick pine, the surrounding area has
been designated as a prefectural park and lies within Town Horokanai.
Horokanai is remarkable in that it boasts the coldest temperature ever
recorded in Japan, an arctic
-41° C (-42° F). This area is also known for its inundation
with snow. Several meters in a winter is not uncommon. In the spring
and early summer runoff fills the lake. Late summer presents the sight
of a vast muddy plain dotted with the stumps of hundreds of trees from
its construction in the late 1930s and early ‘40s. In winter, thick ice
covers the surface and people camp out to drill a meter down and set
their fishing lines.
A diversion on the side of the lake carries water
seven kilometers over the mountains eventually to rush down in three
pipes. The water spins great turbines lying within the basement of Uryu
power station. Located in West Furen, Uryu power station supplies
electricity to a vast area – essentially, all of northern Hokkaido from
Wakkanai to Asahikawa (though several other stations also feed the
latter), and from the Japan Sea to Shiretoko. If you live in this area,
your electricity comes from Shumarinai.
At the lake, two dams hold at bay the main body of
water. Named simply "dai ichi" and "dai ni" (No. 1 and
No. 2), they are tall, gray concrete structures showing signs of their
age in a near-boreal climate.
On the hill between the dams lie the caretakers’
building, an observation tower, and a picnic area. There is also a
tall, stone monument appearing as a slab standing at the edge of the
hill.
The monument honors the people who were killed in
the making of Shumarinai. 304 persons died constructing the dams, a
railway from Nayoro to Horokanai (now defunct), and Uryu power station.
286 were Japanese unable to find a better job in the frontier that was
Hokkaido; 18 were Korean slaves, prisoners of war.
Inside dai ichi dam run three tunnels.
Walking within them is walking in a tomb. Many corpses were simply
thrown into the concrete that became the dam. Likewise, a few
kilometers away, at the end of an unmarked and somewhat overgrown
roadway is a graveyard. The stones are new – although trees surround
the entire area, behind the cemetery is a clearing with high brush. For
the past several years, Korean and Japanese volunteers have been
sifting through the soil there for the unknown number of bodies buried
in undesignated graves. An outdoor furnace lies hidden in the weeds. If
you go there, you will know the graveyard by the first stone you see, a
cross of granite on an otherwise Asian tomb.
Over 71,000 Koreans were deported from their
country to work in Hokkaido. 3000 made Shumarinai, the railway, and the
power station. It’s reasonable to guess that since the number of
deceased Japanese was greater, they outnumbered the Koreans
substantially.
Locals can still recall this "nearby" past. Sasaki
Kenichi of Furen relates that his grandfather helped Koreans who
managed to escape the labor camp. In the town of Furen proper, there
was a detention center for escapees who were recaptured. Mr. Tanii, a
former mayor, recalls that as a boy he made onigiri (rice
balls) and took them next door to the prisoners chained to the walls.
Between the graves and the dams is a simple wooden
shrine, Okenji  . Inside are wooden plaques
bearing the Buddhist name granted a deceased person, detailed
explanations and pictures of the history of Shumarinai, and in the back
room, a cluster of shovels.
…..
If you would like to help search for the remains
of the deceased of Shumarinai, the volunteers work for about a week
every year in early August. The phone number for Horokanai Town Hall is
01653-5-2121. I am sure help is welcome. Shumarinai
Networks is the Japanese-language website of the organization that
finds and properly buries those who made the dams.
Adam B. Smith
Furen, Japan
July 2001
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Japanese website of the organization that
finds and buries
those who made Shumarinai.
draw down (autumn)
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