Hirose River

Overview

A Class A river within the Tone River system, the Hirose River descends from Shibukawa through Maebashi to Isesaki in Gunma Prefecture. Sharing an intake point with the Momonoki River, it has long served as an irrigation channel — hence its other name, the Hirose Irrigation Canal — and it now ranks among Japan's 100 Notable Waterways.

Highlights

• ●Rising in Shibukawa, it passes through Maebashi before reaching Isesaki, classified as a Class A river of the Tone River system
• ●Sharing its intake with the Momonoki River, it has long gone by the irrigation name Hirose Canal
• ●Selected among Japan's 100 Notable Waterways
• ●Before modern times it was known as the Hitonegawa, a name quite different from today's Hirose River

History

The Hirose River's role as an irrigation channel is inseparable from that of the Momonoki River, and together the two are sometimes called the Kōtō Canal or the Hirose-Momoki Canal. In the Edo period the river went by a different name entirely — Hitonegawa (written with characters for 'compare' and 'Tone'). That long record of service as a waterway later earned it a place among Japan's 100 Notable Waterways.

Map

36.2525, 139.2647 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Start following the riverside near the flow around Shibukawa
2. 2Take in the waterside scenery along the stretch through Maebashi
3. 3Observe the Hirose Irrigation Canal in its role as an irrigation waterway
4. 4Trace the downstream flow toward Isesaki

Did you know?

💡 Before the name "Hirose River" took hold, Edo-period records referred to it as the Hitonegawa. Its long service as an irrigation channel later earned it a place among Japan's 100 Notable Waterways.

Nearby spots