抄録 | This study examines how prefectural governments and river basin inhabitants requested financial assistance from the Meiji government for river construction projects, focusing on the activity of Raimo Ohashi, a politician from the Tenryu River basin. During the Edo Period, the expenses for river construction projects on some rivers, including the Tenryu River, were paid by the Shogunate or feudal clans. In the MeijiPeriod, however, these costs became the responsibility of the prefectural governments. In Shizuoka Prefecture during the early Meiji Period, the prefectural government did not have enough money to maintain the large number of rivers within its borders, including the Tenryu River. In fact, one local leader, Meizen Kimbara, used his own money to finance river construction projects. In 1882, the situation improved slightly for Shizuoka Prefecture when the Meiji government began a subsidy program for 14 large rivers in Japan, three of which, Fuji River,Oi River, and Tenryu River, were in Shizuoka Prefecture. However, the subsidies were limited to transportation-related construction and did not include flood removal projects. Then in 1896, the Meiji government passed the River Law, expanding river subsidies to approximately 60 rivers throughout Japan. The subsidies were also expanded to include flood removal projects. With this increase in available subsidies, it became more important for prefectural governments and local leaders to seek funding from the Meiji government. In the lower Tenryu River basin, a local politician, Raimo Ohashi, played a leading role on securing funding for his area during the end of the Meiji Era. Raimo Ohashi organized local municipalities to petition the Meiji government for funding and, after his election to the Diet in 1908, used his own influence within the central government to obtain subsidies. How exactly he accomplished is the focus of this study. |