The project was planned to supply drinking water from Lake Biwa to Kyoto, water transportation, and hydroelectric power generation, and the 1st Sosui was completed in 1890 (Meiji 23) and the 2nd Sosui in 1912 (Meiji 45). This was the first time that a large-scale civil engineering project was carried out entirely by Japanese.canalJapan's first commercial hydroelectric power generation using water from the water was used to power factories as well as Japan's first streetcars, contributing greatly to the modernization of Kyoto, and was registered as a Heritage of Industrial Modernization by the national government in 2007 (Heisei 19). During the cherry blossom season, someiyoshino cherry trees and wild cherry trees planted along both banks of the canal from around Shikaseki Bridge to about 200 meters downstream are illuminated, creating a fantastic world of cherry blossoms at night. The area leading to the adjacent Mitsui Temple (Sonjoji Temple) is one of the best cherry blossom viewing spots in the Kansai region.