• Modification： 2024/01/11
• Area: nagata

In accordance with the Land Tax Reform of 1879 (Meiji 12), the Nagata village representative at the time, Maki Shinzō, established the local boundaries between the public and private sectors. As such, most of the mountainous forests of Seibu Rindō, which now form part of Yakushima’s UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, were declared as private property under the jurisdiction of Nagata village.

However, in 1885 (Meiji 18), these forests were on the verge of being sold off. The national government of Japan regarded this potential sale as an act of embezzlement of a national forest. Shinzō, as the indicted party, was imprisoned for seven long months. However, he never once strayed from his assertion that there was a mistake in the government’s appraisal of the forest boundaries. Eventually, he was acquitted by the prosecuting authorities.

“Everything visible to the eye between Mt. Nagata and the sea belongs to the villagers,” Shinzō is purported to have said with a burning conviction. For this, he has since been regarded as the pride of Nagata village. His desire to live in balance and harmony with nature is a light that guides the philosophies and livelihoods of Yakushima islanders to this day.

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• Modification： 2024/01/11
• Area: nagata

Equipment types of the Takenokawa Power Station (a waterway-type power station):

West of Nagata lies the Takeno River power station, which generates hydroelectric power. It was the first electric power facility on the island, constructed in 1926 (Taisho 15), by the Yakushima Electric Corporation. It brought power to the villages of Nagata, Yoshida, and Issou. Fast-forward to the 1950s, and the demand for electricity had skyrocketed. A lone power station was no longer sufficient, and thus the power supply of Miyanoura, established by Yakushima Denko Electric Company, was extended to this area of the island as well.

At Takeno River Power Station, up to 150kW of power can be generated by river’s kinetic energy spinning the station’s water turbine. The equipment exhibited here, through careful tending and repair, was used for 65 years straight—since the station’s inception, and until it was replaced in 1991 (Heisei 3). Nowadays, it remains a valuable piece of history, and was donated to Nagata village by the Kyushu Electric Power Company.

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• Modification： 2024/01/11
• Area: nagata

After being channeled into an iron pipe that spans an elevation change of 50.3 meters, the Takeno River propels a turbine system that generates hydroelectric power.

This power station was built in 1926 (Taisho 15) by the Yakushima Electric Corporation. To this day, it supports local livelihood and industry through its self-contained local power output of up to 160 kilowatts. At the time of its construction, mackerel fishing was booming in Yakushima’s waters; this station supplied power mainly to the ice factory at Issou Harbor. Soon after, its output was partitioned to bring electricity to the homes and neighborhoods of Nagata, Yoshida, and Issou. On an island still accustomed to living by the light of gas lanterns, the curtain on modernization was raised for these three villages.

Previously, this power station’s operation and management would sometimes be interrupted by its water intake gates being blocked by leaves, branches, sand, and other debris—especially after typhoons or heavy rains—resulting in blackouts. Nowadays, an automatic debris-clearing system keeps the station running, even without human intervention.

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