An Overall Research and Historico-geographical Study on the Existing Documents Concerning Applications for Water-mills and for Hydroelectric Stations

由于水厂是应税对象，因此水厂的设置和处置受到法律的控制。那些以经营方式经营水厂的人有义务申请设置或处置水厂。这些提交的申请一般都被永久保存在县办事处。因此，通过对这些文献的研究，我们可以逐年追踪水磨对水力资源的开发利用情况。至于文献的保存状况，东京都、石川县、京都和群马县的文献保存状况良好。令我们非常失望的是，长野县、岐阜县、新泻县和山梨县没有保存任何文件，这些县大概有很多水厂。对于主管人员来说，处理太多的申请是不是太麻烦了？在大多数情况下，设置水磨机的目的是用它来加工大米或将谷物磨成细粉。其他的破碎器是用来纺纱、加捻、锯切和粉碎瓷土的。水磨坊的一个显著例子是申请船厂，这是一种面粉厂，将在崎玉县的Tonegawa河溪上漂浮。在许多地方，水磨坊的存在给灌溉和渡轮服务的用水带来了麻烦。由于水磨坊是计划建立水电企业的必备条件，所以在石川县、宫崎县、新泻县等县现存的明治和大正时代有很多申请。由于水电业务是一项需要大量资金的企业，东京和大阪的企业家在全国各地的幕后非常活跃，经常与当地的规划者闹事。

Since water-mills were taxable objects, setting and disposal of water-mills were controlled by law. Those who operated water-mills in the way of business had been obligated to place an application for setting or disposal of water-mill. Those applications placed have been generally preserved in the prefectural offices for good. So, by studying those documents we can trace year by year the development and utilization of hydraulic resources by the use of water-mills.As for the state of preservation of the documents, those in the prefectures of Tokyo, Ishikawa, Kyoto, and Gumma are in an excellent state. To our great disappointment, no documents have been preserved in the prefectures of Nagano, Gifu, Niigata, and Yamanashi, where presumably a lot of water-mills one existed. Was it too much trouble for the officers in charge to handle properly too many applications?In most cases, the purpose of setting a water-mill was to use it for processing rice or for grinding grain to fine powder. Other exapmles were for spinning, twisting, sawing, and pulverizing porcelain clay. A remarkable example of a water-mill is found in an application for a boat-mill, a flour mill to be set floating on the stream of Tonegawa River in Saitama Prefecture.In many places the existence of a mill made trouble with the use of water for irrigation and ferry service.Since it was obligatory for one who planned to establish a hydroelectric business, there were a lot of applications placed in the Meiji and Taisho Eras extant in such prefectures as Ishikawa, Miyazaki, Niigata, and others. Because the hydroelectric business was an enterprise which needed a lot of capital money, enterpreneurs of Tokyo and Osaka were very active behind the scene all over the country and often made trouble with the local planners.