It is an earthen dam, with height of 15.3 meters, and three lock gates on its left bank.

The dam utilises the bacon of a pre-existing natural lake, and is unusual in that it is intended to store flood waters from a reverse flow of the Kitakami Rover during typhoons and heavy rains.

The dam is one of several planned after the Kitakami River valley suffered from extensive flooding after typhoons in 1947 and 1948.

Although preliminary construction began in 1975, completion was considerably delayed due to strenuous opposition by local residents opposed to relocation and due to environmental concerns over the flooding of the natural Lake Naganuma.

This article about a dam or floodgate in Tōhoku region of Honshu, Japan is a stub.