[Imabari City Hall] Designed manhole lid commemorating the 20th anniversary of the merger of Imabari City!
*Imabari City Hall*
Press release: September 18, 2024
**
A designed manhole cover commemorating the 20th anniversary of the merger of Imabari City!
*Imabari seen from the local manhole*
This time, we will be focusing on “Design Manhole Covers (Design Manholes)” which are only known to those in the know.
Imabari City is the number one city in Japan for new mergers and the third largest size for mergers and acquisitions, and 11 surrounding towns and villages (Asakura Village, Ochi District, Tamagawa Town, Namikata Town, Onishi Town, Kikuma Town, Yoshikai Town, Miyakubo Town, Hakata Town, Kamiura Town, Omishima Town, and Sekimae Village) are combined into one, making it the second largest city in Ehime Prefecture in terms of population. In our city, we have been developing sewerage systems since before the merger, and at the same time we have created and installed manholes with designs tailored to the characteristics of each region.As a result, our city already has a rich lineup of design manholes, but we have recently added a new one. We have created design manholes and expanded their variety.
* Designed manhole commemorating the 20th anniversary of the merger * * ■Created a new design manhole to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the merger*
This year, Imabari City will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its merger. In this milestone year, we created a manhole design using the 20th anniversary logo of the merger, in order to spread the word about our charming hometown of Imabari both inside and outside the city, and to remind people of the role of sewerage systems that we take for granted. I did. We will be unveiling it.
Date and time: Sunday, October 13, 2020 (scheduled) Time to be determined Location: “Dondobi Shibocchi Hiroba” (planned)
*Details will be announced soon on the Imabari City official website (Sewerage Operations Division).
The newly created design manholes will be installed in one location each on the pedestrian roads in front of the Imabari City Public Hall, the Imabari Shopping District Entrance, and the Minato Community Center “Harbury” around the center of Imabari City.
At the same time, an actual manhole installed on the street will be displayed at the entrance of the main building of Imabari City Hall. * If you are in the central area of Imabari City, please stop by and take a look at the charm of Imabari right at your feet! *
* ■“Imabari Manhole Card” ~ For memories of your trip ~ *
Imabari City currently has manhole cards with the motifs of “Setouchi Shimanami Kaido,” “Kurushima Strait Rapids,” and “Azalea, the city’s flower,” as “Tourist Information.”
It is distributed at the Center IMABARI Aeon Mall Imabari New City Information Center.
*Manholes with a wide variety of designs*
* ■Imabari seen from the local manhole*
Imabari City is located in the northeastern part of Ehime Prefecture, almost in the center of the Seto Inland Sea, and straddles the Takanawa Peninsula and the Geiyo Islands. , the Setouchi Shimanami Kaido, and the Akinada-Tobishima Kaido, making it one of the most beautiful islands in the world. There are approximately 20 types of manholes with a wide variety of designs that reflect these
characteristics, and they are installed and exhibited throughout the city.
* [Old Sekimae Village: Near-endangered butterfly that connects Sekimae and Imabari Castle] *
* Thoughts of a resident who made a wish on a small butterfly with a total length of 3 cm *
The Sekimae region, with a population of 313, consists of three islands in the Seto Inland Sea on the border with Hiroshima
Prefecture. The manhole is decorated with the local specialty mandarin oranges, sea bream, and the near-threatened black-spotted clam, which was discovered in 1989. In an effort to revitalize the region using butterflies as a catalyst, the “Butterfly Protection Island Association” and “students from Okamura Elementary School and Sekimae Junior High School” are working to sow and divide seeds of “Tsumerengae”, which is a food plant for “Black Swallow
Corbicula”. I have been involved in conservation activities for 36 years. A mosaic of butterflies made of tiles was painted by the residents on the outside wall of the school building, and there are many monuments and murals with butterflies as a motif on the island.
* “Black swallowtail clam” that came riding on the wind in front of Sekimae *
It is known that the “black swallowtail” lives only on the south side of the stone wall of Imabari Castle in the old city, 20 km across the sea from Sekimae.
It was a mystery even to experts as to why it was found only in this location. Among butterfly lovers, it is said that because the stone walls of Imabari Castle are made of limestone cut from the Seki-mae area, the butterflies may have crossed the sea and came with them.
* [Former Imabari City: Iyo Navy, which laid the foundation for the manufacturing of Imabari people] *
* “Iyo Navy” who are skilled in seamanship*
From the Kamakura period to the Nanbokucho and Muromachi periods, the sea lords who were active in the Seto Inland Sea are sometimes collectively referred to as the “Iyo Suigun.” The Kutsuna clan, the Imaoka clan, and the Futami clan are the most representative, but during the Sengoku period, the Murakami pirates, who were vassals of the Kono clan, the guardians of Iyo Province, grew into a force known as “Japan’s greatest pirates.” . The lords of the sea not only fought on the seas as naval forces, but also played a variety of roles in the Seto Inland Sea during peacetime, such as distributing goods and securing maritime traffic.
It is said that the knowledge and excellent navigation techniques of people who lived on the sea were carried over into the Edo period, and that the enterprising spirit and manufacturing style of the Imabari people were formed around this time.
* [Former Miyakubo Town: Noshima Murakami Pirates, feared as Japan’s biggest pirates] *
* “Pirate story” seen from the manhole cover *
Former Miyakubo Town is the northern part of Oshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea on the Shimanami Kaido. Long ago, this was the base of the Noshima Murakami pirates. In the Seto Inland Sea, there were the Murakami clans of “Kurushima, Noshima, and Innoshima,” later known as the three families of Murakami pirates, and among them, the Noshima Murakami pirates were called “Japan’s greatest pirates.” The motif of the manhole cover is Murakami Takekichi, the lord of Noshima Castle, who holds a boat flag with the family crest “upper” on it.
“Murakami Takekichi” is one of the heads of the Murakami Kaizoku family who established the heyday of the company. Pirates are often talked about as ferocious, but they also had a cultural side, as they often attended renga gatherings held at Oyamazumi Shrine in the former Omishima Town, and left behind many songs. The memory of Murakami Kaizoku, who gallantly roamed the Seto Inland Sea without being intimidated by the forces of time, continues to be passed down, along with many cultural assets and local events, and continues to fascinate us.
The lid picture is “Noshima-kun”, a mascot character from the former Miyakubo town.
*About design manholes*
* ○Sewerage Public Relations Platform (GKP)*
* Chairman Yutaka Nagaoka (Professor, Tokyo City University) * Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of the merger of Imabari City.
At the Sewerage Public Relations Platform (GKP), we work to shine a light on sewerage systems, which are often hidden from the public eye, and to spread their value. One of our representative activities is the “Manhole Card,” in which we visit and collect manhole covers with different designs from each municipality, and Imabari City
participated in this initiative in 2021. It uses a manhole cover from the former Yoshikai Town, and the design of the Setouchi Shimanami Kaido and azaleas is eye-catching.
In the city, there are manhole covers in each former town and village that retain the memory of the land before the merger, but it is the sewers that have continued to support the local culture, special products, natural environment, etc. depicted on these covers underground. . On the other hand, looking to the future, sewage systems will become an important base for policy in creating new value, such as preparing for new epidemics and natural disasters, and recycling resources. The design manhole created for the 20th anniversary of the merger of Imabari City is truly a design that represents Imabari City from the past to the present and into the future.
We wish Imabari City, our partner with whom we have shared the value of sewerage, further development.
* Future initiatives of Imabari City *
* ■Production of a new manhole that brings the charm of Imabari right under your feet*
Sewerage is an important and familiar infrastructure that supports local communities, but not many people pay attention to its functions and roles. This time, we would like everyone to know as much as possible about its role, and as a starting point for your interest, we would like to introduce the existing manholes, and to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the merger, we have created a new design manhole.
We will continue to work on the production and installation of designed manholes in order to spread the word about our attractive hometown of Imabari both inside and outside the city, and to further promote our sewerage business and help people understand its importance.
* ■New “manhole card” *
Manhole cards are sewerage public relations items planned and supervised by the Sewerage Public Relations Platform (GKP). More than 1,000 types of manhole cards have been issued by 717 organizations across the country, and we plan to apply for an additional “designed manhole to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the merger” that we created this time and will distribute two types of manhole cards. Information regarding the production and distribution locations of new “manhole cards” will be posted on the Imabari City official website (Sewerage Operations Division) as they become available.
Manhole card to be added (image) *This image is posted with permission from the Sewerage Public Relations Platform (GKP).
* [Related site information] *
〇Imabari City Official Homepage https://www.city.imabari.ehime.jp/
〇Imabari City Strategic Information Dissemination Project
〇 Sewerage Public Relations Platform Official Homepage https://www.gk-p.jp/