Roman aqueduct
Rome's first aqueduct was built in 312 BC, and supplied a water fountain at the city's cattle market. By the 3rd century AD, the city had eleven aqueducts, sustaining a population of over a million in a water-extravagant economy; most of the water supplied the city's many public baths. Cities and towns throughout the Roman Empire emulated this model, and funded aqueducts as objects of public interest and civic pride, "an expensive yet necessary luxury to which all could, and did, aspire".
Tamagawa Aqueduct
The aqueduct was created following a request for permission from the people of Kojimachi and Shibaguchi to build another aqueduct, drawing the waters of the Tama river. The government provided 7,500 ryō for the construction, 3,000 ryō were collected by public subscription. Construction on the 43 km long aqueduct, which runs from Hamura, Tokyo to Yotsuya, Tokyo, began in April 1653. The section from Hanemura to was fully excavated within eight months and the entire aqueduct was completed in eighteen months. The project was undertaken by the Seiemon brothers who were awarded the surname "Tamagawa" in honour of their accomplishment. Prior to the construction, the two brothers were considered "mere peasants". Before the construction of the aqueduct the city was served by a single, and insufficient, Kanda Aqueduct.