Saru River

River in Hokkaidō, Japan

42°58′59″N 142°45′8″E / 42.98306°N 142.75222°E / 42.98306; 142.75222 • elevation930 m (3,050 ft) MouthPacific Ocean

• location

Hidaka, Hidaka Subprefecture, Japan

• coordinates

42°30′5″N 142°0′31″E / 42.50139°N 142.00861°E / 42.50139; 142.00861

• elevation

0 m (0 ft)Length104 km (65 mi)Basin size1,350 km² (520 sq mi)^[1]^[2]^[3]

Saru River (沙流川, Saru-gawa) is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan.

The Saru River rises in the Hidaka Mountains and empties into the Pacific. It is considered sacred in traditional Ainu beliefs.^[4]

The Nibutani Dam is situated on the Saru River, at Nibutani village. The construction of this dam was the subject of famous domestic litigation, producing the first ever Japanese legal decision to recognise the Ainu people as an indigenous people. Construction of a second dam, the Biratori Dam is also planned by the Hokkaido Development Board.^[5] The 'Cultural Landscape along the Saru River resulting from Ainu Tradition and Modern Settlement' has been designated an Important Cultural Landscape.^[6]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saru River.

^ 沙流川 (in Japanese). Ministry of Land,Infrastructure and Transport Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
^ 鵡川 25000:1 (in Japanese). Geographical Survey Institute. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
^ 沙流岳 25000:1 (in Japanese). Geographical Survey Institute. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
^ Lam, May-Ying (July 27, 2017). "'Land of the Human Beings': The world of the Ainu, little-known indigenous people of Japan". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Some recounted stories of modern-day discrimination. Others spoke of the lost beauty of the Saru River, a sacred site for the Ainu, on which the government constructed a dam in the 1990s.
^ Large, Tim (2001-01-01). "FEATURE - Sacred river doubly dammed by pork-barrel Japan". Planet ARK. Reuters. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
^ "Database of Registered National Cultural Properties". Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 29 April 2011.

River systems and rivers of Japan

Rivers of Hokkaido

Sea of Japan	Ishikari River Chitose River Toyohira River Makomanai River Anano River Yūbari River Koetoi River Rumoi River Shiribeshi-Toshibetsu River Shiribetsu River Teshio River Zenibako River
Sea of Okhotsk	Abashiri River Shibetsu River Shokotsu River Tokoro River Yūbetsu River
Pacific Ocean	Akan River Kushiro River Mitsuishi River Mu River Niikappu River Saru River Shizunai River Tokachi River
Rivers of Hokkaido on Commons

Rivers of Honshu

Tōhoku region	Abukuma River Arakawa River Iwaki River Kitakami River Komagome River Koyoshi River Mabechi River Mogami River Natori River Ōhata River Oirase River Omono River Takase River Yoneshiro River
Kantō region	Arakawa River Edo River Fuji River Kanda River Kuji River Naka River Sagami River Sumida River Tama River Tone River Tsurumi River
Chūbu region	Agano River Shinano River Seki River Hime River Kurobe River Jōganji River Jinzū River Shō River Oyabe River Tedori River Kuzuryū River Fuji River Abe River Ōi River Sakawa River Tenryū River Toyo River Yahagi River Shōnai River Kiso Three Rivers Kiso River Nagara River Ibi River Kushida River Miya River Kita River Minami River
Kansai region	Choshi River Ibo River Kako River Kinokawa River Kumano River Kuzuryu River Maruyama River Muko River Yamato River Yodo River Yasu River Katsura River Kamo River Kizu River Dōton River Yura River
Chūgoku region	Asahi River Ashida River Gōnokawa River Hino River Hii River Ōta River Oze River Saba River Sendai River Takahashi River Takatsu River Tenjin River Yoshii River

Rivers of Shikoku

Aibiki River
Shimanto River
Shinmachi River
- Suketō River
- Tamiya River
- Sako River
- Sumiyoshijima River
Yoshino River
- Dōzan River

Rivers of Kyushu

Kyushu	Arie River Chikugo River Kikuchi River Kuma River Mimi River Ōno River Ōyodo River
Yaeyama Islands	Kokuba River Nakama River Urauchi River