Completed in 1954, it is managed by the Tohoku Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The dam creates Lake Tase (田瀬湖, Tase-ko), a popular sightseeing spot.

The Home Ministry, together with Tokyo Imperial University drafted a flood control plan in 1926, which was upgraded in 1938 when implementation began.

The plan called for the construction of five large dams on the main stream of the Kitakami River and its major branches.

Under the 1950 National Land Planning Act promulgated by the Yoshida administration, work on the Tase Dam came under the aegis of the Kitakami Area Comprehensive Development Plan (KVA), which was modelled after the American Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).