Gozanoseyama and Teahouse Remains

Hunting grounds were established in Sokoino during the era of Kuroda Nagamasa, the feudal lord of the Fukuoka domain. In 1638, the second feudal lord, Kuroda Tadayuki, built a villa in Gozanoseyama, which became known as the Teahouse of Sokoino. It was embellished and refined the most during the years of Kuroda Mitsuyuki, the third feudal lord. Other feudal lords and chief retainers came there to observe the moon and for flower viewing. After that, it was scaled down and was eventually shut down in 1796. It was opened again in 1812 because of its proximity to Kurosakijuku and its easy access to transportation. The current Sokoino Elementary School was built on the site of the ruins. The pond where successive generations of feudal lords spent their leisure time became the school’s athletic ground.

Sokoino Highway

A highway connecting Nagasaki Highway and the Karatsu Highway during the Edo Period built to bypass the town of Kurosakijuku. The Sokoino Highway is used by a large number of travelers and merchants because of its convenience in reducing traveling time and distance. Midway along the route is Sokoino Village, which prospers as an important hub of transportation.

Data

Approx. 20-minute walk from JR Chikuzen Habu Station

Data

Approx. 20-minute walk from
JR Chikuzen Habu Station.

Former Neko Castle Site

Neko Castle was built on a 20-meter hill as a branch castle by the Aso clan during the Muromachi Period. It became the battlegrounds for many clashes between the Aso and Munakata clans. There was never a decisive battle to end the conflict, and Nakama City was divided and ruled by both clans. As a result, Neko Castle became the branch castle of the Munakata clan in 1578. Legend has it that signal fires from the castle could be seen throughout the nearby towns of Onga, Kurate, and Munakata. A high fire meant the area was under siege, and a low fire meant the siege had stopped. It is famous for a battle against Mori Shigezane, Lord of Takatori Castle, who commanded 1,000 troops in 1580.

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1696-1 Kamisokoino, Nakama-shi, Fukuoka
Approx. 20-minute walk from JR Chikuzen Habu Station

The Noboritate Ruins laid on a hill in the vicinity to the present day Municipal Baseball Ground. They were gravesites from the middle to the end of the Yayoi Period (for about 100 years from around 50BC to 50AD). Eleven stone coffins and one pot have been found. Among these, an iron axe was found along with human bones and shell bracelets in the second stone coffin.

Iron Axe

The iron axe is approximately 40.5 cm long and was used as a weapon in the Yayoi Period. It consisted of a wooden handle attached to the base of a blade at a right angle. It was originally designed as a weapon used by horseback warriors. However, the ones found in Japan had a connecting portion for the handle which was small, and it is assumed that the weapon was probably used mainly in ceremonies and similar events.

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1-660 Oaza Habu, Nakama-shi, Fukuoka
Approx. 2-minute walk from JR Chikuzen Habu Station
※ admission free

Shell Bracelet

The shell bracelet was fashioned out of the shell of a sea snail called a “gohora.” It was discovered as if it was worn around the wrist of the person entombed in the stone coffin. The “gohora” sea snail is found in the south seas, evidence that the people of the northern part of Kyushu traded with people in Southeast Asia and other faraway places.

Botayama

Rocks and low-quality coal discarded during the process of dressing and preparing coal were called in Japanese “bota.” (In English, “spoil tip” or “slag.”) The enormous pile of these “bota” was named Botayama (“Mt. Bota”). The slag heap contains a high quantity of coal and at one time it produced a considerable amount of smoke due to spontaneous combustion caused by earth pressure and subterranean heat. As Nakama City prospered from coal mining, the peculiarly-shaped hill became the town’s symbol at that time. Today the hill is covered with trees and just by looking at it, its past is not obvious. And, because it is the highest spot around the city, many people climb up it on New Year’s to be able to view and pay their respects to the year’s first sunrise.

Data

Approx. 20-minute walk from Nakama Station on the JR Chikuho Honsen Line.

Site of Birthplace of Oda Ieko

Oda Ieko was the proprietress of the Komatsuya money-exchange business owned by a merchant family in Sokoino Village during the end of the Edo Period. She was a historical figure who completed the Ise Pilgrimage in the targeted 144 days and descriptions of her travels appear in the Azumaji Dairies. The Azumaji Dairies contain approximately 370 short “tanka” poems and earned high praise as a travel journal. From Ieko’s high cultural bearing and dynamism it is easy to see the abundant folk culture and high energy that brews among the common folk in the Sokoino area.

Data

Approx. 20-minute walk from JR Chikuzen Habu Station.

Tsukigata Kiyoshi and Geikyokudo

Tsukigata Kiyoshi was born in 1847 as the son of the feudal retainer of Fukuoka in a village called Naka-Sokoinomura, Onga County, Chikuzen Province (present day Naka-Sokoino, Nakama City, Fukuoka Prefecture). His father (Shunko) was a Confucian scholar famous for establishing Geikyokudo, a private school. His mother, Take, was the daughter of Miyazaki Shoan, a disciple of Ito Tsunetari, and he was first named Naoyoshi. In 1881, he became the first warden of the Shuchikan Penitentiary built in Hokkaido. In addition to actively cultivating wasteland in the area, during his four years as warden, it is said that he endeavored to improve meals and other living conditions of the inmates in the prison. After that, the area around the prison was named Tsukigata (currently Tsukigata-cho) after him, and the town has become a bridge of exchange between the town in the north and Nakama City.