Misu Komon (Lock Gate)

Misu Komon is a lock gate at the midpoint point between the Uji River and Hori River. Constructed in 1929, or the fourth year of the Showa period, it has the same mechanism as the Panama Canal that adjusts the water level between two lock gates, and it allows the passage of vessels through the Uji River and Hori River that have different water levels. At the time of opening, there were 20,000 cargo ships coming and going each year, but ships do not pass this gate anymore. Misu Komon was restored and renovated in the year 2000, and is now one of the landmarks of Fushimi as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property; an industrial remain of modern Japan. In the vicinity there is the Misu Komon Museum that shows the role of Misu Komon in the history of Fushimi as a port town.