13
YOUR GLOBAL CRAFTSMAN STUDIO
2
Gold Rush inModern Japan
The Historical Site of Sado Gold Mine
is roughly four hours from Tokyo by
Shinkansen and jet foil (high-speed
passenger boat). Found on Sado Island,
located in the western part of Niigata
Prefecture, the mine has some 400km of
tunnels (same distance as that between
Sado and Tokyo) and is known as the
largest gold and silver mine in Japan. The
vast site includes variousmining facilities
that are designated a National Important
Cultural Property, Historical Site or
Heritage of Industrial Modernization.
It is said that thehistory of SadoGoldMine
began in 1601 when three speculators
whoweremining for silver in the Tsurushi
Silver Mine in Aikawa discovered a new
vein of gold amongst the silver. In 1603,
Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu placed Sado
under his direct control immediately
after winning the Battle of Sekigahara.
The Shogun immediately appointed
Okubo Nagayasu as its administrator
because Okubo was originally from
Kai and had knowledge of gold mining.
Under Okubo, the Sado mine was
exploited, beginning with the largest
Aoban vein, followed by the open-pit
Dohyu vein, the Ohkiri vein and then
the Torigoe vein. At its peak in the first
half of the 1600s, the mine produced
more than 400kg of gold and 40 tons of
silver per year. The Sado mine suddenly
became Japan’s largest gold and silver
mine and precipitated a gold rush.
Over a period of approximately 270 years
thereafter until the end of the Edo Period,
a total of 41000kg of gold were mined
and supported the Tokugawa Shogunate
financially.
RapidGrowthOwing to theDevelopment
of the Mining Technology and Transfer
of the Mine to Mitsubishi
The Sado mine became famous as a gold
mine, but its production declined from
around the middle of the Edo Period
prompting the Meiji government to send
a Western engineer to the mine in 1869
to deal with the situation. As a result, in
1877 an ore mill was built using Western
technologies and the Ohdate shaft, the
first Western-style shaft to be used in a
metalmine inJapanwasopened.With the
One of Mitsubishi Materials’ roots goes back to Sado City,
Niigata Prefecture. Sado appears in Konjaku Monogatari
Shu (The Tale of Times Now Past), written toward the end
of the Heian Period and in Zeami’s Kintosho (The Book of
Golden Island) and has been known since ancient times as
the “island of gold.” The Sadomine, which belonged to the
Imperial familywas sold toMitsubishi Goshi Kaisha in1896
and thereafter supported the growth of Japan’s industries
with the largest-ever production of gold in Japan. This
article introduces the history of Sado Gold Mine and the
development of mining technology.
HISTORYOF
MITSUBISHI
Sado Gold
Mine
HISTORY OF MITSUBISHI
Japan’s treasure trove, boasting
the largest-ever production of
gold
Power lines installed inside the tunnel to increase production (1939)
The Kitazawa flotationmill (rear centre) during the Meiji Period
“Sado Mine Open House,” held since the Taisho Period
Switching yard in the former Ohdate shaft hoisting house (made of wood)
Vol.
