2023 Volume 79 Issue 6 Article ID: 22-00280
In this study, I focused on “Tokugawa Jikki”, the official record of the Edo Shogunate. In AD 1666, the first statute called “Sansen Okite”, referring to landslide and flood control measures, was published in the “Tokugawa Jikki”. Therefore, in this study, we first extracted all matters related to rivers up to AD 1666.
As a result, it became clear that in AD 1645, about 20 years before the first appearance of the “Sansen Okite”, there existed legal references to erosion and flood control measures. In addition, from AD 1666 to AD 1742, I extracted legal matters related to the “Sansen Okite”. These included that the cultivation of fields and the cutting down of trees were prohibited in the upper reaches of rivers and in the mountains that served as water sources. There were also orders banning the development of new rice fields along the lower reaches of rivers, as well as cutting down trees at the water’s edge. Further investigation revealed that 6 items related to the “Sansen Okite” were published, and laws and ordinances concerning landslide control measures were promulgated about every 20 to 30 years.
Even today, we should think about managing both forestry and flood control in an integrated manner, like the “Sansen Okite”. In this study, I showed that there are many points that we, who live in the present, should consult the policies of the Edo Shogunate regarding.
