{"id":8205,"date":"2026-10-19T13:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T04:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=journal&p=8205"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:48:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:48:51","slug":"fushimi-water","status":"publish","type":"journal","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/journal\/fushimi-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Fushimi’s Water and Sake Brewing: Groundwater Quality, Water Absorption by Rice, and the Roles of Rivers and Flood Control"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

About the Charms of Fushimi-Momoyama<\/a><\/p>

In This Article<\/summary>The Gokosui was restored in 1982<\/a>Gokonomiya, Hideyoshi, and tea ceremony in Fushimi<\/a>The groundwater used by sake breweries is affected by geological strata and pumping<\/a>The Kintetsu elevated tracks and negotiations to protect well water<\/a>What does \u201cmoderately hard water\u201d say about what the water contains?<\/a>The amount of water the rice absorbs is also a brewing condition<\/a>Ogura Pond was a shallow pond where the waters of three rivers gathered<\/a>Hideyoshi’s river works, the Meiji-era closure, and the Showa-era reclamation were separate projects<\/a>Brewery offices and lock gates also include flood precautions<\/a>Groundwater for sake brewing and the waterways used by boats served different purposes<\/a>At the Misu Lock Gate Museum, moving models show how water levels change<\/a>References<\/a><\/details>

One of the conditions that made Fushimi a sake-producing center is that groundwater can be obtained at the foot of the Momoyama Hills. Sake brewing requires water not only as brewing water but also for washing the rice, soaking it, and washing equipment. Beyond securing a sufficient quantity, water quality is also important to breweries, because the substances dissolved in the water affect fermentation and how the rice breaks down.<\/p>\n

The Gokosui at Gokonomiya Shrine is a place to learn about this area’s groundwater. Old shrine traditions tell of the origins of a spring, and today the water is drawn from a well made after the spring’s restoration. To the southwest of the town there are also waterways that were used for boat transport. The groundwater supported brewing, and the rivers supported transport.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Gokosui in the grounds of Gokonomiya Shrine. A documentary photograph published in 2006. Image: ignis. Title: Gokosui Water Gokogu Fushimi Kyoto JPN.jpg. Image source<\/a>. CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Gokosui was restored in 1982<\/h2>\n

According to Gokonomiya’s shrine tradition, in 862 fragrant water sprang up within the shrine grounds, and because people who drank it were healed of their illnesses, the shrine was granted the name \u201cGokonomiya\u201d by Emperor Seiwa. The fragrance and the healing belong to the shrine’s religious origin story; they do not indicate the water’s present quality or any medical efficacy. [16<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The spring dried up sometime after the beginning of the Meiji era and was restored in 1982. According to the shrine, the water is now drawn from 150 meters underground, and its temperature stays at around 17\u00b0C throughout the year. In 1985 it was selected by the Environment Agency as one of the 100 Best Waters of Japan. [16<\/a>, 26<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The Ministry of the Environment describes the area around Gokonomiya as a place blessed with groundwater flowing southwest from the Momoyama Hills. When collecting water, please follow the shrine’s on-site instructions. [26<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\"\u201cGokonomiya\u201d<\/a>
\u201cGokonomiya\u201d in the 1786 printed edition of Miyako Meisho Zue (Illustrated Guide to Famous Places of the Capital) (frame 302). It depicts the shrine buildings, a smaller shrine within the grounds, and people heading toward the gate, presenting the shrine as a famous site of the Edo period. It does not depict underground water veins or the present-day intake facilities of the Gokosui. Enlarge image<\/a>. Image: Compiled by Akisato Sh\u014dseki, illustrated by Shunch\u014dsai Takehara Nobushige \/ Ukai Bunko Collection, National Institute of Japanese Literature \/ ROIS-DS Center for Open Data in the Humanities (CODH). Original material and bibliographic data<\/a>. CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. CODH Pre-modern Japanese Text Dataset<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gokonomiya, Hideyoshi, and tea ceremony in Fushimi<\/h2>\n

Gokonomiya had ties to Toyotomi Hideyoshi even before Fushimi Castle was built. According to the shrine’s history, in 1590 Hideyoshi prayed there for victory in battle, dedicated a sword and a written prayer, and donated shrine lands with a yield of 300 koku. In 1594 the shrine was moved to the northeast inside the castle, as a deity guarding the castle’s kimon, the inauspicious northeast direction. The shrine was returned to its present site in 1605, when Tokugawa Ieyasu built its main hall. The connection between the shrine and the castle followed a concrete sequence of events: prayers and donations, and the relocation of the shrine site. [R3I021<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Separately from the shrine’s traditions concerning the Gokosui, tea gatherings in Fushimi were also recorded in the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The records of tea gatherings introduced here do not by themselves show that the Gokosui was used. A copy of a letter by Kinoshita Hansuke dated Bunroku 2 (1593) mentions a tea gathering to which Hideyoshi invited feudal lords to Fushimi, and it also shows that Horio Tatewaki was in charge of hospitality as the assigned host on duty. Horio Tatewaki is Horio Yoshiharu, who served Hideyoshi and later built Matsue Castle. Tea gatherings to which daimyo were invited involved not only people who prepared the tea but also people responsible for arranging the venue and hospitality. [R3I002<\/a>]<\/p>\n

At Gokonomiya, activities to preserve the Gokosui are connected with the tea ceremony. The teahouse Ky\u016bk\u014dken in the shrine grounds is a building from Momoyama-ch\u014d Tateuri that the shrine received; an entrance, a waiting area, a mizuya, and other spaces were added, and it was completed in 2006. A mizuya is a room where tea utensils are washed and preparations for the tea gathering are made. The teahouse is used for the tea offering festival and for the monthly tea gatherings of the Gokosui Preservation Society. A place that passes down a famous spring has not only facilities for drawing water but also a space for preparing tea and welcoming guests. [R3I001<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The groundwater used by sake breweries is affected by geological strata and pumping<\/h2>\n

Groundwater does not flow only through a single open channel underground, like a river. It is stored in the gaps within layers that let water pass easily, such as sand and gravel, and moves through them. A layer that holds water and supplies it to wells is called an \u201caquifer.\u201d In Fushimi there is shallow groundwater in river, terrace, and other deposits, as well as groundwater in aquifers within the older Osaka Group, and the layer that a well draws from depends on its depth. [DXP08<\/a>]<\/p>\n

A geological report by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) explains that, as groundwater use in Fushimi increased and water levels fell, use gradually shifted from around the 1960s onward to confined groundwater from deep wells. Confined groundwater is groundwater under pressure beneath a layer through which water does not pass easily. Even in an area where a famous spring flows, water cannot be drawn without limit, and the water sources used by the breweries also changed. [DXP08<\/a>]<\/p>\n

In an area where breweries are concentrated, looking at a single well does not reveal the state of the water. A 2013 paper by Takafumi Kitaoka, Harushige Kusumi, and others, who studied groundwater flow at Kansai University, focused on an area of about 4 square kilometers in which about 50 wells owned by sake brewing companies are densely clustered. They measured well water levels in the field and analyzed them together with pumping in the surrounding area and the three-dimensional structure of the strata. [DXP07<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Because pumping water also changes the surrounding groundwater levels, protecting the water used for sake brewing involves not only managing water quality at each brewery but also understanding the strata and water use across the whole area. The traditions of the Gokosui, sake brewing, and well monitoring are, respectively, activities of faith, production, and resource management connected with water. [DXP07<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The Kintetsu elevated tracks and negotiations to protect well water<\/h2>\n

Plans for where to route a railway also affected the breweries’ wells. According to the history of the Fushimi Joyukai, in 1928, in response to a plan to run a railway underground through the Momoyama Hills, the Fushimi Sake Brewers Association asked Matsubara Atsushi, a geologist at Kyoto Imperial University, to conduct a survey. Based on survey results expressing concern about the effects on groundwater, the association is said to have lobbied the authorities and the railway company and requested a change to elevated tracks. Construction methods had to be coordinated between the development of above-ground transportation and an industry that obtains its water from underground. [R2P006<\/a>]<\/p>\n

In 1960 a groundwater survey committee was organized, and surveys were carried out by Kawabata Hiroshi, who studied groundwater at Kyoto Gakugei University, and others. In 1977 a groundwater preservation committee was established, and in 1979 a request was made to the City of Kyoto that construction involving underground work be discussed with the brewers association. A conservation system was put in place that not only measures water levels and quality but also involves consulting with designers and contractors and, where necessary, changing construction methods. [R2P006<\/a>]<\/p>\n

What does \u201cmoderately hard water\u201d say about what the water contains?<\/h2>\n

Water hardness is a value calculated mainly from the concentrations of calcium and magnesium. The Fushimi Sake Brewers Association describes the area’s brewing water as moderately hard water containing potassium, calcium, and other minerals. Hardness, however, is not an indicator of all the components in water. Some components, such as potassium, are not included in the hardness calculation. [18<\/a>, 28<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Inorganic components dissolved in brewing water promote or suppress the growth of microorganisms and enzyme reactions. In small-scale brewing trials published by the National Research Institute of Brewing in 2024, waters of similar hardness did not yield the same components in the finished sake or the same changes during brewing. Because water quality also differs with the depth of the well and the strata, one cannot conclude from hardness alone that \u201cFushimi water is moderately hard, so the sake tastes this way.\u201d [28<\/a>]<\/p>\n

This research covered brewing water from various regions. To know the composition of individual wells in Fushimi, a water quality analysis of each well would be required.<\/p>\n

The amount of water the rice absorbs is also a brewing condition<\/h2>\n

After the rice is washed to remove the bran from its surface, it is soaked in water so that it absorbs moisture. The soaking time varies with the rice variety, the growing conditions of the year’s crop, the rice’s hardness, and the degree of polishing. Highly polished rice absorbs water quickly, so the time is sometimes adjusted to the second. The water is not simply for wetting the rice; it is used to bring the rice into the right condition for the steaming that follows. [10<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Steaming changes the starch in the rice into a state that koji enzymes can break down more easily. Part of the steamed rice is used for koji making, and the rest goes into preparing the moromi, the mash in which steamed rice, koji, water, and other ingredients are combined and fermented. In the mash, koji enzymes convert the rice starch into sugar, and yeast produces alcohol from that sugar. Not only water quality but also water absorption, steaming, koji, yeast, and fermentation temperature are all conditions of sake brewing. [10<\/a>, 29<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The Fushimi Sake Brewers Association gives the explanation \u201ceight sh\u014d of water for one sh\u014d of sake.\u201d This is a rough guide indicating that producing sake requires more water than the amount of sake that becomes the final product. Considering that water is also used for washing rice and cleaning, it becomes clear why breweries need an abundant supply of water. [18<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Ogura Pond was a shallow pond where the waters of three rivers gathered<\/h2>\n

Ogura Pond (Ogura-ike), which once spread out to the south of Fushimi, was a shallow pond formed in the area where the Uji, Kizu, and Katsura Rivers come together. Downstream lies the narrow terrain at Yamazaki, which made it difficult for water to flow out, so a broad expanse of water formed upstream of it. According to Kyoto Prefecture’s description of the landform, the pond had a circumference of about 16 kilometers and an area of 794 hectares, and areas 1 meter deep or less made up 90 percent of it. [56<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Low-lying land where water gathers was a place where fish and aquatic plants thrived, and also a place where water spread out during heavy rain. Fish such as carp, crucian carp, and moroko, as well as plants such as reeds, Manchurian wild rice, lotus, and water caltrop, lived and grew there, and people also used the pond for fishing. The works that changed this environment of ponds and rivers came in separate stages: Hideyoshi’s embankments, the Meiji-era river improvements, and the Showa-era reclamation. [56<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Hideyoshi’s river works, the Meiji-era closure, and the Showa-era reclamation were separate projects<\/h2>\n

When Toyotomi Hideyoshi built Fushimi Castle and its castle town, he diverted the Uji River toward Fushimi and built embankments between the river and Ogura Pond. The construction of the Taiko Embankment, the Makishima Embankment, and others was a project to guard against floods while also securing a waterway to the port and roads toward Uji and Nara. The embankments that held back the water also served as routes for carrying people and goods. [90<\/a>][1<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The 16th-century works did not, however, make the pond disappear. Ogura Pond remained afterward, and the conditions under which water flowed in and out changed through modern river improvements. The Yodo River Improvement Works of 1896\u20131910 included work to separate the Uji River from Ogura Pond and close off the connection. Kyoto Prefecture’s description of the landform explains that, within these works, construction in 1900\u20131903 led to the old Uji River and the drainage channel from Higashi-Imoarai being abandoned, and the deterioration of the water quality progressed. [90<\/a>][56<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a>
An explanatory diagram showing the embankments around Ogura Pond, the Uji River, and the location of Fushimi. The red lines indicate Hideyoshi’s civil engineering works. It is neither an original map drawn in Hideyoshi’s time nor a map of the present-day river channels. Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Kinki Regional Development Bureau, Yodogawa River Office website, \u201cHistory of the Misu Lock Gate<\/a>.\u201d Public data terms and conditions of use<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The water surface of Ogura Pond as it once was. Water stretches to the distant shore, and colonies of aquatic plants can be seen on the surface. A photograph published in Kyoto Prefecture (ed.), Ky\u014dto-fu no Shiseki Meish\u014d Tennen Kinenbutsu (Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments of Kyoto Prefecture) (1935), frame 118. The year the photograph was taken is unknown. Page and bibliographic data<\/a>. Image: Kyoto Prefecture (ed.) \/ National Diet Library Digital Collections. Public Domain Mark and reproduction conditions<\/a>. The photograph portion of the original material is shown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From 1933 to 1941, a national land reclamation project drained the water and turned the pond bed into land, creating 634 hectares of farmland. Separating the rivers from the pond is different from draining the pond to create dry land. Treating everything from Hideyoshi’s works to the Showa-era reclamation as a single development obscures the fishing grounds and waterside life that continued for several hundred years. [55<\/a>, 56<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/a>
Aerial photograph of Ogura Pond. It gives an overview of the large body of water and how it related to the surrounding land and the rivers. Published in Kyoto Prefecture (ed.), Ky\u014dto-fu no Shiseki Meish\u014d Tennen Kinenbutsu (1935), frame 118. The year the photograph was taken is unknown. It is a photographic plate from the time of publication and does not show the pond or river channels as they are today. Page and bibliographic data<\/a>. Image: Kyoto Prefecture (ed.) \/ National Diet Library Digital Collections. Public Domain Mark and reproduction conditions<\/a>. The photograph portion of the original material is shown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Agriculture on the reclaimed land depends on maintaining the facilities that drain water from it. A 2019 casebook by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries describes how renovating the drainage pumping stations and drainage channels of Ogura Pond reduced flood damage not only to farmland but also to residential areas, roads, and public facilities. On land that was once a pond, both farming and everyday life rely on drainage facilities. [64<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Brewery offices and lock gates also include flood precautions<\/h2>\n

Fushimi Yume Hyakushu in Minamihama-ch\u014d is the former head office of Gekkeikan, completed in 1919. It was built about 1 meter above the road as a precaution against flooding of the Uji River, and this design can still be seen in the stone steps at the entrance and the stone enclosure. A single building shows both the convenience of a location near the river and preparations against flooding. [7<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The Misu Lock Gate (Misu K\u014dmon), in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, is a facility that raises and lowers boats between the Horikawa Canal and the Uji River, which have different water levels, so that boats can travel between them. Because it works on the same principle as the Panama Canal, it is also called \u201cthe Panama Canal of Fushimi.\u201d It was completed in 1929. [36<\/a>][93<\/a>][32<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Between the two gates is a section called the lock chamber, which boats enter. Once a boat is inside, the gate on the departure side is closed, the water level in the chamber is matched to that of the destination river, and then the gate on the opposite side is opened. When heading to a river with a higher water level, the boat is lifted along with the water; when heading to a lower river, it is lowered. The mechanism lets boats pass while remaining afloat, even when the rivers’ water levels differ. [36<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The Misu Lock Gate became necessary because the construction of embankments on the right bank of the Uji River, begun in 1922, meant that boats could no longer travel directly between Fushimi Port and the Uji River. A facility was needed that would let boats into the port inside the embankment while the embankment protected the town. Operating the lock gate to let boats through has now ended, but the facility also serves as part of the embankment. [32<\/a>][90<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Flood control in Fushimi was not achieved by the lock gate alone. In the great flood of 1953, the Mukaijima embankment on the left bank of the Uji River broke, causing extensive damage in the river basin. Embankment construction, river improvements, and flood regulation by dams continued afterward. Raising buildings, embankments, lock gates, and drainage facilities are each measures that deal with flooding in different places and for different purposes. [90<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Photographs from the construction period and the time of completion, the differences from an incline, and the change from freight transport to a preserved facility are covered in detail in Modern Fushimi and the Misu Lock Gate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Groundwater for sake brewing and the waterways used by boats served different purposes<\/h2>\n

Heading west from Gokonomiya along Otesuji and then south brings you to the sake brewery district and the waterside around the Horikawa Canal. The water pumped from underground for brewing and the waterways used to carry people and goods by boat have supported Fushimi’s industries in different ways.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
A present-day map for visiting the groundwater at Gokonomiya and the waterways of the sake brewery district and Misu. It does not depict the water surface of Ogura Pond before reclamation or underground water veins. Gokonomiya \u2197<\/a> \/ Sake brewery district \u2197<\/a> \/ Misu Lock Gate \u2197<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Misu Lock Gate and a jikkokubune boat. Photographed in April 2024. The facility is located farther south of the Horikawa Canal around the sake breweries. Image: Bruno Plass. Image source<\/a>. CC BY 4.0<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The brewing process is explained in detail in Tsuki no Katsura’s Sparkling Nigori Sake and Gekkeikan’s Techniques<\/a>, and the development of water transport and commerce in The Edo-Period Port Town<\/a>.<\/p>\n

River water was used for more than carrying goods. A Meiji-period photograph of Fukakusa Watamori-ch\u014d shows a washing place with steps leading down to the surface of the Kamogawa Canal. It is a record of the canal bank being built so that it could be used in daily life, and of people doing their washing there. Distinguishing among three uses\u2014wells for brewing, a canal for boats, and a washing place\u2014also reveals the facilities that were needed along the water. [R2P008<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A washing place built on the Kamogawa Canal in Fukakusa Watamori-ch\u014d. Steps leading down to the water surface and people can be seen. An example of river water being used for daily washing, separate from the well water used for sake brewing. Image: From Mirai e Tsumugu Fukakusa no Kioku (Memories of Fukakusa Passed On to the Future) (provided by Sadako Umeno). Original material and image source<\/a>. Fukakusa Archives terms of use<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the Misu Lock Gate Museum, moving models show how water levels change<\/h2>\n

The museum next to the Misu Lock Gate has a model and video explaining how the lock gate works, a model of \u201cFushimi Port and the Town of Fushimi,\u201d and panels on the history of the Misu Lock Gate. Besides showing the procedure for passing boats through by changing the water level, they offer clues to where the port and the town were connected. In the plaza there is also a monument of the hoist that once moved the gates. [91<\/a>]<\/p>\n

According to the museum’s official information, it is located in Yoshijima Kanaidoch\u014d, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, about a 10-minute walk from Chushojima Station. Admission is free, and opening hours are 9:00\u201316:30. The museum is normally closed on Mondays, but it is open on Mondays in April, May, October, and November and on Mondays that are national holidays, and it is closed from December 27 to January 5. The museum has no parking. All of this information was confirmed on October 26, 2026; before visiting, you can check the latest opening status in the official visitor information<\/a>. [92<\/a>]<\/p>\n

References<\/h2>\n