Many wooden buildings from the Edo, Meiji and Taishō periods still stand along the canals of the town.
Origin of the Name
The name Tokomizu comes from 床水 (tokomizu), “under-floor water”. This land has always been rich in spring water, and houses drew it in beneath their floors. That under-floor water gave the county its name, which at some point came to be written 常水, “constant water”.
The kitchen springs (kabata) that bring water into kitchens are still in use today as the oldest canals in the town.
The Great Rising and the Chōwa Calendar
At the end of the 15th year of Taishō (1926), Tokomizu County rose into the sky, ground and all. This is called the Great Rising. No one knows why it happened.
On the ground below, the era name changed on 25 December of the same year, but the news never reached Tokomizu. The Tokomizu calendar runs straight on from Taishō 15 to Chōwa 1. This town has never known a single day of the Shōwa era.
From Tokomizu County to Tokomizu Town
The county office and the post of county head had been abolished on 1 July, Taishō 15, before the Great Rising. When the land rose, there was no government office above it. So the heads of the towns and villages met and chose a Warden of Ukisu. Later, eight towns and some forty villages joined together to become Tokomizu Town.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 July, Taishō 15 | The county office and the post of county head are abolished |
| End of Taishō 15 (1926) | The Great Rising. Chōwa 1 |
| Chōwa 20s | Water-wheels and small hydroelectric plants spread throughout the town |
| Chōwa 41 | The Damp Current (electricity that travels through damp air) is discovered |
| Chōwa 50s | Fish-power (drawing electricity from the movement of fish) is discovered |
| Chōwa 62–78 | Trials to compare which creatures are best at generating power continue (the Years of the Duck) |
| Chōwa 79 | The 12th Warden of Ukisu officially adopts koi and goldfish as power fish |
| Chōwa 84 | The Fish-Power Institute opens; the town begins giving out power-fish fry free of charge as the town's own strains |
| Chōwa 90s | The canals throughout the town turn clear (the Clearing) |
A Town That Keeps Adding On
There is no record of earthquakes in Tokomizu, and buildings last a long time. Rather than tear down old houses, people add onto them, and they edge the places they have mended with vermilion lacquer or brass. The most respected craftsmen in the town are the seam carpenters.
