Administrative background of the term “Sabo”

Abstract

A Japanese term “Sabo”, which dates back to early 1870 s and would literally mean “sand prevention”, denotes the policies to control erosion and torrents in upstream areas. This study traces the historical background of the term “Sabo” in an administrative context, drawing upon public archives. Those policies were first called “Bosha” when they were introduced in 1873. The word “Bosha” stands for the two same characters, but in reverse order, which constitute the term “Sabo”. Soon afterwards those two terms had been used concurrently and often confounded for more than a decade. Since the institution of the Sabo Act in 1897, however, the term “Sabo” has been established as a legal concept which encompasses both public works and regulatory measures designed for erosion and torrent control.