Tanabe Sakuro
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Tanabe Sakuro (田辺 朔郎; December 2, 1861 – September 5, 1944) was a Japanese civil engineer and early pioneer in the development of hydro electric power.
Tanabe’s most famous achievement was the Lake Biwa Canal that runs from Lake Biwa to Kyoto city.[1] For his work as Chief Engineer directing the project and paper entitled “The Lake Biwa - Kyoto Canal” published in 1894, Tanabe was awarded a Telford Medal by the British Institution of Civil Engineers. The canal passes through a series of tunnels and was the site of Japan's first Hydro-electric power station.
Tanabe worked for many years as a Director for the Hokkaidō Kansetsu Railway. In 1916 Tanabe was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Kyoto Imperial University.
