Ashio, Tochigi, Japan - 1610-1973

Ashio Copper Mine

Ashio Copper Mine operated in Tochigi Prefecture from 1610 to 1973, making it one of the longest continuously operating mines in Japanese history. The Furukawa family modernised the operation during the Meiji period, building it into one of the largest copper producers in Asia and supplying the raw material for Japan's industrial development.

From the 1880s, smelter runoff from Ashio contaminated the Watarase River system. Downstream farmland in the Kanto plain became toxic. Fish populations collapsed. Rice paddies that had been worked for generations failed. The Ashio pollution incident became the subject of parliamentary inquiry, mass protest, and the forced relocation of the most affected villages. It is recognised as Japan's first industrial pollution disaster.

Production continued regardless. The mine operated through the Meiji and Showa periods and through Japan's postwar economic recovery, closing in 1973 after 363 years of continuous operation. The site now operates as a heritage museum.

The mine infrastructure, ore processing facilities, and company town buildings are partly preserved and partly in the process of return to the mountain. The photographs were made across both zones in 2016.