Q- Toyonokuni History Road
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Travel Guide of Scenic Byway Kyushu Q-❿ Toyonokuni History Road Kitakyushu, Kanda, Yukuhashi, Miyako, Chikujo, Buzen, Yoshitomi, Koge (Fukuoka Pref.), and Nakatsu, Usa (Oita Pref.) -Ancient Country, Nakatsu Kaido (old road in Edo era), Usa Shrine (large-scale national shrine) As shown on the map, the region along scenic byways of time. The current castle tower was reconstructed in 1959 after Toyonokuni History Road is five cities and five towns facing the World War II and is characterized by the fact that there is no eaves Suo-nada Sea, which extends to the eastern part of Fukuoka between the 4th and 5th floors, and it has been restored to hill Prefecture and the northern part of Oita Prefecture. surrounded by high stone walls. Toyonokuni Province is the old name of this region. Many The eastern side of the Murasaki River is merchant areas, in histories of the formation and development of the ancient nation which district’s names are called fish shop, rice dealer, blacksmith, are engraved throughout various places, and the name of this etc., and based on their occupations. Also, the grocery market called scenic road is based on making them important resources. “Tanga-ichiba” in the arcade street is crowded with citizens every [Access] Kitakyushu Airport and Kokura Station on the Sanyo day. In addition to the usual foods, specialties such as local dishes Shinkansen are the main access points. If visiting by car, you can are lined up in a stack. use Kyushu Expressway and Higashi-Kyushu Expressway. (2) Adachisan Area of “Myokengu Shrine”. You can also use the Nippo Main Line of JR Kyushu, which is In 769, the fake oracle incident occurred at Usa-Hachiman almost parallel to National Road 10. Therefore, it is possible also to Shrine and the administration was shaken. Wakeno Kiyomaro walk using the nearest station for each landscape resource. (nobleman) was dispatched to the Usa-Hachiman Shrine as the [Main Route] In the past, there was the Nakatsu Kaido Road from messenger of the emperor. And he received the true message of Kitakyushu City to Nakatsu City, and the road for imperial envoy to Usa Jingu Shrine was on the extension. Some sections are still (1) Castle Tower (Tenshukaku) of in use today, but the current National Road 10 was Kokura Castle. built to better protect the environment of town along this old road. As a result, the new and old roads pass through the same location, overlapping or separating. On the other hand, there are various major spots in the scenic route such as Kokura Castle, ruins of the ancient Kokufu (provincial capital) of Buzen Province, and Usa Jingu. The table on the right lists them in chronological order, and if you divide them into sections based on these, you will get (1) to (8) as shown in the map. This scenic history road is along the thick lines in the Map, with a few exceptions. The thick red line is National Road 10, and the thick blue line, the old road. Therefore, the main route will be formed by connecting these two. The following is a brief introduction for each of these blocks. (1) Castle Town in Kokura-Kita Ward. The most important scenic site in ❿ this area is Kokura Castle on the west Q- Toyonokuni History Road Usa side of the Murasaki River, which was Table Historic important happenings in Nakatsu Kaido Road originally built in the early 16th 7th 8th 12th 17th 19th AD Era century. After the Hosokawa Clan Tumulus Asuka,Nara Heian Sengoku Edo Meiji~ moved to Kumamoto, the Ogasawara (3)Ishizuka T. (4)Buzen Kokufu (2)Oracle Case (6)GoganTemple (1)Kokura Castle (6)Yukiti Fukuzawa (3)Goshoyama T. (8)Usa Shrine (8)Komo Shrine (6)Nakatsu Castle (7)Yabakei Bridge Clan inherited it. The castle was often CASE etc. (6)Aono Domon(Tunnel) exposed to fire, but was rebuilt every (5)Kubote Mt. 1 God; “The throne must be inherited by the blood relationship of the place of about 2km from Miyako-Toyotsu IC on East Kyushu emperor”. With this message, he thwarted the ambitions of Dokyo Expressway, remains of “Kokufu” were found. The scale is ( Buddhist monk) to succeed to the throne. estimated to be 650m×490m, and it is preserved as an archeological Kiyomaro saved Japan from the big crisis. However, he was park of Buzenkokufu. exiled to Kagoshima for revenge, and at that time he hurt his leg. In addition, there are also traces of Kokubunji, and the Soja-jinja It is said that wild boars saved him and healed the wound at the shrine where the gods of the local shrine are gathered and hot spring in Mt. Adachi. In the sense of thanking this, MyokenGu Shrine was built at the foot of Mount Adachi in 770. If you visit MyokenGu, you can look back on the history of Japan and at the same time see the current scenery of the Kitakyushu City. If you follow the Nakatsu-kaido with such thoughts, you may understand how the Japanese feel about the emperor system. (3) Large-scale Tumulus in Kanda Town Kanda Town, which is adjacent to Kitakyushu City, has developed as an industrial city, but there are still some important ancient tombs (Kofun) from the 3rd to 7th centuries. One of them is the Ishizukayama Tumulus in the 4th century (nationally designated historic site), which is estimated to be 120m long and 10m high at the rear. It is located adjacent to the current (1) Tokiwa Bashi Bridge crossing the Murasaki River city hall, and it is the largest keyhole type of burial mount in Kyushu. A bronze mirror with a triangle edge decorated with god and animal, national important cultural property, was found in an old tomb and dedicated to the nearby Uhara Shrine. The Goshoyama mound near Ishizukayama was built in the late 5th century. The length of mound is about 120m long, and harnesses and mirrors have been found that show interchanges with mainland China. In fact, many ancient tombs can be seen in the area from Kanda Town to Usa City. From those remains, it is clear that many powerful clans lived in this area during the 3rd to the 7th centuries. (4) Ruins of “Buzen Kokufu” in Miyako Town This area was the capital of the ancient Buzenkoku Province that existed from the 8the century to 10th century. In the west (4) Path of Metasequoia (Chikujyo Town, Fukuoka.) (2) Wakeno Kiyomaro in 10 (3) Ishizukayama Tamulus (Kanda City) yen-note used in the period to Showa from Meiji. (2) Myouken-Gu Temple (Kitakyushu City) (4) Kokubun-Ji (temple) and its three-storied pagoda (Miyako City, Fukuoka Pref.) (5) Kubote Mt. (Buzen City) 2 enshrined. In short, there is a park with the theme of the remains became an educator in the Meiji era and established Keio of the ancient provincial capital in BuzenKoku, and you will be able University. That is why he is the most respected in Japan, and the to understand the framework of local administration in the 8th current 10,000 yen bill has his portrait in it. As shown in photo (6), century. his childhood residence remains in Nakatsu City and is open to Going further south, you reach the Chikujo town. Here, you can visitors. stroll "Metaseno-mori Forest" surrounded by trees (See Photo (4)). (7) Yabakei Rocky Area (5) Kubote Mountain Area for Faith Heading to Hita City via National Road 212, you can reach Hon- The mountain of Kubote (782m) is located on the border between yabakei Valley in Nakatsu City, surrounded by deep valleys. There Buzen City and Chikuzen Town. Untill the Meiji era, mountain is a huge rock just behind the road, and in the fall, the colorful religion of abstinence and discipline were active. Many caves that autumn leaves harmonize to create a gorgeous view. became the base of worship remain and are designated as national Photo (7) is the scenery along the Yamakuni River. In the 18th treasures. In addition, the village at the foot of the mountain is an century, the monk dug a tunnel along the river with chisel and important cultural landscape of the rural landscape. hammer to eliminate dangerous road on the cliff. This is called On the other hand, if you drive by car along Prefecture Road 32, "Aono-Dōmon (tunnel)" and is said to be the origin of Japan’s toll you can reach the summit of the mountain, and enjoy the roads. Meanwhile, a stone bridge with eight arches was built in magnificent panorama of the sea and mountains. 1923. (6) Scenic spots in Nakatsu City (Oita Pref.) Another thing you can’t miss is the Rakan-Ji temple. It is located Three main scenic sites in Nakatsu City are given by Gogan-ji in the Honyabakei area, following the prefecture road 500. “Rakan” Temple, Nakatsu Castle, and the former residence of Fukuzawa (Arhat) means a religious person who deserves respect, and Rakan- Yukichi. Ji Temple is established to worship such people. When Kuroda Clan became the lord of Nakatsu domain, he There are many Rakan-ji temples throughout Japan, but the invited the former lord, Utsunomiya, to Nakatsu Castle and killed headquarter is the temple in Hon-yabakei district, which is an him. Utsunomiya subordinates fled from Nakatsu Castle and important cultural asset of Japan. fought at Gogan-ji Temple, but were killed. The white walls of the (8) Shrines of Usa and Como temple were repainted to remove the bloodstains at that time. However, no matter how many times it was repainted, the blood of the slain oozed out and would not disappear.