In Tainan City, Taiwan, there is a dam called Wusanto Dam (烏山頭ダム). This dam was built during the period when Taiwan was Japanese territory and is still actively in use today. This article explains the story of Yoichi Hatta, the Japanese engineer who oversaw its construction, with photos taken during my visit in October 2023.
Yoichi Hatta and Wusanto Dam: The Achievements and Story of a Japanese Engineer in Taiwan
Wusanto Dam is the central facility of the Chianan Canal (嘉南大圳). The Chianan Canal was a large-scale irrigation project that supplied irrigation water to vast agricultural lands in southern Taiwan and greatly contributed to the development of Taiwanese agriculture. The total construction cost was approximately 54 million yen (at the time), an enormous sum considering Taiwan’s financial scale back then. Construction of the Chianan Canal began in 1920 and was completed in 1930.
Japanese engineer Yoichi Hatta played an indispensable role in the success of the Chianan Canal, overseeing the design and construction of Wusanto Dam.
Yoichi Hatta: The Engineer
Engineer Yoichi Hatta was born in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. He studied civil engineering at Tokyo Imperial University and joined the Government-General of Taiwan. In Taiwan, he served as head of the Civil Engineering Department in Taipei Prefecture and Chiayi Prefecture, eventually becoming the director of the Chianan Canal Construction Office. He played a central role in the Chianan Canal project, overseeing the design and construction of Wusanto Dam.
Construction of Chianan Canal and Wusanto Dam
The construction of Wusanto Dam was an extremely difficult task. At that time, heavy machinery was not developed, and many people were involved in the construction by hand. Additionally, due to the soft ground, repeated landslides occurred, resulting in many casualties. Despite the difficult conditions, Yoichi Hatta persevered in his efforts to complete the Chianan Canal. The dam was completed in 1930, and Engineer Hatta returned to the Government-General of Taiwan. He died on May 8, 1942, at the age of 56, when the ship he was on was sunk by an American submarine during a business trip to the Philippines.
The Tumultuous Life of Yoichi Hatta’s Statue, More So Than the Man Himself
Installation of Engineer Hatta’s Statue
In May 1930, with the completion of Wusanto Dam, the central facility of the Chianan Canal, Engineer Yoichi Hatta was to return to the Government-General of Taiwan. A desire for a commemorative item naturally arose among the employees, leading to the decision to create a statue of Engineer Hatta. Hatta initially refused but eventually agreed on the condition that “it must not be a statue looking down from a pedestal.” A statue depicting him sitting by the dam’s starting point, contemplating while touching his hair, was erected in Wusanto on July 8, 1931.
Requisition and Discovery of the Statue
However, as Japan’s war situation worsened, a metal requisition order led to the collection of statues and temple bells. Hatta’s statue was no exception and was surrendered. After the war, Hatta’s statue remained missing after its requisition. However, it was accidentally discovered in a black market in Tainan City by the son of Shigeru Sakai, who had been Hatta’s subordinate. It was transported to a warehouse belonging to an association in Fanzi Tian (present-day Longtian, Tainan City). This was a time when Japanese statues and shrines were being removed. The irrigation association hid the statue in the basement of the dam’s management office, where it remained sealed for over 30 years.
Hatta’s statue was reinstalled in its original location with a new pedestal in 1981, 37 years after it disappeared from Wusanto. The people of Chianan had painstakingly protected Hatta’s statue. Furthermore, recognition efforts extended to his wife, Toyoki. On September 1, 2013, her death anniversary, a statue of her holding their child was erected in the memorial park.
Another Ordeal: The Beheading Incident of the Statue
On April 16, 2017, an incident occurred at Wusanto Dam in Tainan, southern Taiwan, where the head of Engineer Yoichi Hatta’s statue was cut off and stolen. Early on April 16, staff from the Chianan Irrigation Association discovered that the head of Engineer Yoichi Hatta’s statue had been severed when they visited Wusanto Dam. The statue’s head went missing nearby, and the police launched an investigation on suspicion of theft and property damage.
On May 17, 2017, Li Chen-lung, a former Taipei City councilor, confessed to the crime on his Facebook page and turned himself in to the Taipei City police. Li Chen-lung was a radical pro-unification politician belonging to the中华统一促进党 (Chinese Unification Promotion Party).
Approximately one month after the incident, on May 8, Engineer Yoichi Hatta’s death anniversary, the Chianan Irrigation Association carried out restoration work on the statue. The restored statue was unveiled to the public in June of the same year.
Excerpt from news reports at the time:
“The statue of Yoichi Hatta, whose head was recently severed, has been restored, and an unveiling ceremony was held again on the 7th. The statue of Japanese engineer Yoichi Hatta, who developed large-scale irrigation facilities in Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan prefectures in central and southern Taiwan during the Japanese occupation era, transforming these areas into granaries, had its head severed on the 15th of last month by former Taipei City councilors and others.
Every year on May 8th, Mr. Hatta’s death anniversary, a memorial service has been held around this statue, but the damage to the statue cast doubt on whether the service could be held. Subsequently, restoration proceeded using a replica bust owned by the Chimei Museum, and the restored statue was unveiled on the 7th.
Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te, Kanazawa City Mayor Yukiyoshi Yamano, and Mr. and Mrs. Shuichi Hatta, Mr. Hatta’s grandson, gathered at Wusanto Dam, which Mr. Hatta built, to attend the unveiling ceremony. Shuichi Hatta, seeing his grandfather’s statue restored in a short period, expressed his surprise, saying, ‘I can’t believe it.’ He also said that this time he came not for the statue, but to confirm that the friendship between Taiwan and Japan had not been harmed.
Tainan Mayor Lai emphasized that true friendship endures trials, and that the friendship between Taiwan and Japan would not only remain unchanged but would become even better. – Radio Taiwan International”
Current Wusanto Dam
Currently, Wusanto Dam is also open to the public as a recreational area (admission fee: 200 NTD). The Yoichi Hatta Memorial Hall and his former residence have also been established, attracting many tourists. When I visited in October 2023, groups from Ishikawa Prefecture, Hatta’s hometown, were also there to pay their respects to the engineer’s statue. Additionally, Japanese-Taiwanese friendship organizations were visiting his former residence.
