◆Research findings by a group led by Professor Yuji Yamamoto of the International Marine Core Research Institute have been published in the *Journal of Cultural Heritage*

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3D Reconstruction of a Post Town Submerged at the Bottom of a Lake Using Geoscientific Methods
—Science Brings Back to Life “Hibara-juku,” Submerged by the 1888 Mount Bandai Eruption—

　Professor Yuji Yamamoto of the International Marine Core Research Institute and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC; President: Hiroyuki Yamato)and a research team led by Researcher Wataru Tanigawa of the Kochi Core Research Institute have successfully reconstructed the submerged townscape in three dimensions by conducting detailed measurements of the lake-bottom topography of the former Hinohara-juku site—a natural disaster site submerged in Lake Hinohara in Kitashiobara Village, Yama District, Fukushima Prefecture (a post town on the Aizu-Yonezawa Highway)—using a high-resolution multibeam echo sounder.This study is the first instance in which the structure of a town remaining on the lake bottom of Lake Hibara—formed by the 1888 eruption of Mount Bandai—has been revealed using non-destructive geoscientific methods.
　This research was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant 22H00028 and a collaborative research grant from the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University (2021K-07).
The research findings were published in the Journal of Cultural Heritage (Elsevier) in December 2025.

[Press Release] 3D Reconstruction of an Edo-Period Post Town Submerged at the Bottom of a Lake [PDF: 1.58MB]

Image 1
The second torii gate submerged in Lake Hibara. In the background, you can see Hibara-yama Shrine and the first torii gate.

Title: Reconstructing a Submerged Post Town in Japan: Microtopographic Analysis of Hibara Village Beneath Lake Hibara
Authors: Wataru Tanigawa1,2, Shintaro Yamazaki3, Tetsuya Yamamoto1, Atsushi Kimura4, Masao Yoshida5, Hisashi Nakagawa6, Akihiro Shimada7, Yuji Yamamoto2, Rantei Sasaki8, Takehiro Hirose1
1. JAMSTEC Advanced Research and Development Division, Kochi Core Research Institute; 2. Kochi University, International Marine Core Research Institute; 3. Kyoto University, Disaster Prevention Research Institute; 4. Tokai University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Humanities; 5. Kitashiobara Village Board of Education; 6. Toyohashi City Art Museum; 7. Izunokuni City; 8. Teikyo University, Institute for Cultural Heritage