Kobe's Three Major Civil Engineering Heritage Sites of the Meiji Period Kobe Civil Engineering Heritage Journey Photo Exhibition" will be held from January 19 (Mon.)!

How was the foundation of the city of Kobe built?

The "Kobe Civil Engineering Heritage Journey," a photo panel exhibition tracing the "three major civil engineering heritage sites in Kobe" that were built in the Meiji period and contributed to the development of modern Kobe, will be held from January 19 (Mon.), 2012.

This project is being undertaken by the "Minatogawa Tunnel Department, NPO J-heritage, and Heritavi LLC JV" as a commissioned project of the Kobe Prefectural Citizens' Center, Hyogo Prefecture. In addition to the dissemination of information via SNS, centered on a special website, and tours of the three major civil engineering heritage sites, a photo panel exhibition will be held on the following schedule.

The photo exhibition will show not only the current state of each civil engineering heritage site, but also what it looked like at the time of construction, and will also include images taken by a drone and explanatory text. The exhibition is designed to provide visitors with an in-depth look at the history and value of each civil engineering heritage site.

Kobe Civil Engineering Heritage Travel Photo Exhibition leaflet

Kobe Three Major Civil Engineering Heritage Photo Panel Exhibition (free admission)

(Part 1)

Date: January 19 (Mon.) - February 1 (Sun.), 10:00 - 20:00

Place: Metro+, Metro Kobe Central Square (3-3-9 Tamondori, Chuo-ku, Kobe)

(Part 2)

Date & Time: February 3 (Tue) - February 16 (Mon), 10:00 - 17:00 *Closed on Wednesdays

Place: Marushin Market (2-8-61 Higashiyama-cho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe)

Kobe's three major civil engineering projects

Karasuhara Reservoir

A curved gravity-type coarse stone and mortar dam completed in 1905. The reservoir was constructed following the Nunobiki Reservoir in response to the need for sanitary water supply facilities in the Meiji Era (1868-1912), when the population of Kobe increased with the opening of the port and a cholera epidemic broke out.

Karasuhara Reservoir

Minatogawa Tunnel

Japan's first river tunnel was built under Mt. It was 604 m long, 7.6 m high, and 7.3 m wide, and was completed in 1901. It was partially collapsed during the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and its role was completed in 2000.

Minatogawa Tunnel

Hyogo Canal

Completed in 1899, the Hyogo Canal is one of the largest canals in Japan, with a surface area of approximately 34 ha. The construction of the Hyogo Canal was planned in response to frequent damage to ships in Cape Wadamisaki, a difficult shipping port. The canal also contains valuable industrial heritage sites such as the Slewing Bridge and the Ohwada Bridge.

Hyogo Canal

Photographer

Atsuko Maehata

Industrial heritage photographer, heritage manager, dam meister

She has traveled throughout Japan with the theme of industrial heritage to communicate its appeal and potential through photography.

In 2014, she held a photo exhibition at Canon Gallery, and since then, she has held photo exhibitions in Abeno Harukas, Himeji, Kumamoto, and other places in Japan. 2025, she will exhibit her works including three major civil engineering heritage sites in the "Scenes from 30 Years from Now" photo exhibition. He has also served as the chairman of the judging committee for the Minatogawa Tunnel Photo Contest, and has been photographing and writing for "Burari Tamba Road" since 2015.

He is the author of "Jyoshi-teki Sangyo Hogo Sanken" (Exploring Industrial Heritage for Girls) (Sogensha) and "Gurutto Tanken Sangyo Hogo" (Exploring Industrial Heritage) (Kobe Shimbun Sougou Shuppan Center).

Yohei Maehata

Photographer, Heritage Manager, Industrial Heritage Coordinator

Yohei Maehata is a photographer who continues to photograph a wide variety of industrial heritage sites throughout Japan, including mines, factories, war sites, and modern architecture.

In 2008, he won the Most Honorable Mentions Award in the "dpc2 Photo Contest" for digital photography. 2016, he was selected for the "fujoka deeps Photo Contest 2016" organized by Fukuoka Prefecture. 2015, he joined the "Tabitan Project" as a photographer and has been communicating the charm of the region through his photographs. In 2017, he participated in the "Industrial Heritage Photo Exhibition and Each Heritage Exhibition"; in 2025, his works including three major civil engineering heritages will be exhibited in the "Scenes from 30 Years from Now Photo Exhibition".

He is the author of "Industrial Heritage JAPAN" (Sogensha), and "The Door to Illusion and Another World: Industrial Heritage" (Shobunsha).

Kobe Civil Engineering Heritage Journey special site

https://minatogawazuido-bu.jp/3dobok/

Minatogawa Tunnel Department Channel

https://www.youtube.com/@zuidobu

Kobe Civil Engineering Heritage Journey

https://www.tiktok.com/@kobe3dobok

The exhibition at the satellite site (Hyogo Ward Office 1st floor lobby) mentioned in the flyer has been cancelled due to the strong possibility that the site will be used as an advance voting site for the general election for the dissolution of the House of Representatives.