お雇外国人技師R. H. ブラントンの信濃川河口調査に関する研究

抄録

Richard Henry Brunton was a foreign engineer hired by the National Government of Japan in early Meiji era. On the 8th of August, 1868, he arrived at Yokohama from England in order to construct lighthouses in Japan. His activity in Japan did not only cover lighthouses' constructions but it also covered a wide range of occupation, e.g., city and port planning, railway and telegraph construction, etc.
On the 6th of June, 1871, Brunton surveyed the mouth of the Shinano River in the Niigata district. The mouth of the Shinano River had been used as a port since the early history of Niigata. In 1858, the treaty of amity and commerce was concluded between Japan and America. This treaty advocated that Niigata Port, as a treaty port, would be opened to foreign trade from 1868. However, due to the sand obstacle at the mouth of the Shinano River, trade did not flow very smoothly. The purpose of Brunton's survey, therefore, was to remove this natural sand obstacle, thereby making a new plan for a Niigata port.
This study is aimed at researching into the contents of Brunton's survey in Niigata. Results of this study clearly show that Brunton was a pioneer in devising modern flood controls in the Niigata district.