円筒分水 (entō bunsui) えんとうぶんすい = cylindrical water diversion
An ento-bunsui is a structure that regulates a river or stream, diverting water towards multiple irrigation channels, which differ in size according to the size of the land they serve. The English word for 円筒分水 is practically non-existent. The best translation is probably “cylindrical water diversion”, but I’ve seen cylindrical water splitter, diversion cylinder, watershed cylinder, cylindrical diversion, and others. I can find no evidence of similar devices outside of Japan.)
Kuji ento bunsui 久地円筒分水
For more photos of ento-bunsui throughout Japan, do a Google image search for 円筒分水.
Here’s the Shimokuzawa diversion pond 下九沢分水池 in Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa (map)(source).
Read more about water infrastructure in Tokyo: ClearWater Nippon & splashing around Tokyo’s water infrastructure
Read more for information about the Shimokuzawa diversion pond: 春の円筒分水ツアー (下九沢分水池~久地円筒分水へ) Spring of the cylindrical water diversion tour (to the watershed pond – lottery cylindrical diversion Shimokuzawa)
A map of all the identified ento bunsui in Japan (per entoubunsui.com):
Another version (unknown source):
See also:
- Takatsu-ku ento-bunsui walking map (Kawasaki) 円筒分水と久地不動尊コース
- 可視化された公平性 Fairness visualized: this post claims that ento bunsui were invented at the end of the Meiji era.
[…] “Ento bunsui and Fudosan course”, course is named after 円筒分水 ento bunsui, a cylindrical water-dividing device that I’ve written about before, and 久地不動尊, a religious site. The […]
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