History of Kumamoto Prefecture
Encyclopedia
The outline of the history of Kumamoto Prefecture is described herein. Kumamoto Prefecture
is an eastern half of Hinokuni (The land of Hi, fire), corresponding to the Higo Province as called in days gone by. Exceptions are the part of Kuma gun or Kuma Districts of Japan
which had once been included in Sagara Domain
and Nagashima which is included in Kagoshima Prefecture
. Kumamoto Prefecture roughly corresponds to traditional Higo Provice, like Miyazaki Prefecture which corresponds to Hyuga Province.
Kumamoto Prefecture is roughly divided into three areas, namely, the northern area with Kikuchi River
, Shirakawa River
and Mount Aso
Area; the Kumagawa Area including the Hitoyoshi Basin and the Amakusa Island Area. The first one is the Kumamoto han, and the second the Hitoyoshi han and the third one is the Tokugawa Shogunate
controlled Amakusa Area.
s in natural beauties or volcanic activitites, the Ritsuryo
and the following rise of samurais, the arrival of Kato Kiyomasa
from Nagoya, wars around the Bakumatsu including the Satsuma Rebellion
, and public problems concerning Minamata disease
. After the establishment of the Yamato Government or Yamato Ouken, the history of Kumamoto has been constantly under the influence of the Central Government.
age in Japan were found in Kumamoto Prefecture. However, only a few areas were excavated. Mainly these were distributed in the outer Aso mountain areas and Kuma district. The oldest one is the Ishinomoto Site in Hirayama machi in Kumamoto City; dating back more than 30,000 years ago by the radiocarbon dating
method. A large number of artifacts (archaeology) or stone tool
s such as stone axe
s and knives were excavated, suggesting that Kyūshū had been nice places for living as a hunter-gatherer
society. However, at the same time, Kyūshū experienced great volcanic activities by the activities of Mount Aso
, Aira Caldera
in Kagoshima Prefecture and Kikai Caldera
. There were four large series of Mount Aso
volcanic activities with structural changes, the last one was about 90,000 years ago. The lava belts thus produced presented stone materials for bridge construction in Kumamoto Prefecture.
, there were no rich exvacations in the Kumamoto Prefecture, because of the volcanic activitites about 7300 years ago by the Kikai Caldera
in Kagoshima Prefecture. In the middle age of the Jomon period were Goryo midden
and Kurohashi midden. Later, 13 middens in Kumamoto were situated at the height of 5 meters above sea level. In Souhata midden, acorns were found stored. Fish hooks made of stone were found in Amakusa
. A peculiar style of earthenware
called kokushokukenmadoki was developed according to the development of living styles. Burned rice corns and barley
corns were found in a dugout (shelter)
dwelling in Uenobaru midden in Kumamoto City. 770 Archaeological sites were found in the Jomon period in Kumamoto Prefecture, including Kannabe midden, Kumamoto in which Dogū
s and ground stone
s were found.
, Japan's earliest official document, the early countries of Yamato Ouken, Wa (Japan)
, appointed a king of small area which came under the Yamato Ouken, a head of agata (Agata Nushi). Yamato Ouken is considered to be the forerunner of the Japan's Imperial House of Japan
existing in the Nara
area or somewhere and started in the 3rd century. In the same document and in Chikushi-koku-fudoki, there were three Agatas or Districts in the present Kumamoto Prefecture, Kuma agata, corresponding to Kuma Area, Asonken, corresponding to the Mount Aso
area and Yatsushiro area, which is considered to be larger than today. Near the Uto Peninsula area are about 120 large kofun
s, or megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. In Kumamoto Prefecture, there are a concentrated distribution of decorated kofuns, in which various patterns were drawn, for instance, breasts of a woman in Chibusan kofun in Yamaga city. In another kofun in Uto city, the burial of a woman in her thirties was confirmed, suggesting the presence of Miko or a shaman. It was a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami
. A sword in a kofun named Etafunayamakofun
had Chinese characters describing Emperor Yūryaku
（in kanji
), Historian Wakatakeru has suggested that this area was under the control of Yamato Ouken. One of the gozoku
s was named Takebe-no-Kimi, a family of samurai
nature, who was given such a name by Yamato Ouken, and who was assumed to live near Kokai-Honmachi；in those days, near Takebe.
in Kinki area of Japan, composed of several powerful families, with Oh (king) or Ohkimi (great king) as its center. These names include Yamato Choutei (Court), Yamato Ouken, Wa Ouken, and Yamato Seiken. At the same time, there are views that the presence of smaller regional states should be respected. At the present time, Yamato Chotei (Yamato Court) is employed in the textbooks censored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. There is a view that Choutei (Court) should not be used before the 4th and 5th century. At the present time, Yamato Ouken is tentatively used here.
, the official history of Japan, in its description of a soldier who returned from the Tang empire
after 33 years of captivity after the Battle of Baekgang
; he was Mibu no Moroishi of Kohshi gun of Higo Province. It was in 696. In the same book, the construction of Kukuchi castle in preparation of a possible attack, was described in 696. This castle is considered to be a storage place. Under the ritsuryo
system of Japan, a branch of the central government called Kokufu was placed in areas under the influence of the central government. In Kumamoto Prefecture, Kokufu, was placed in Mashiki in Wamyo Ruijusho
and in other places in other books. As the name of a place, Kokubu(or -fu) was in Kumamoto city, and there was a building in the 9th century; which was found destroyed in a flood. As a government post, Higonokami Michinokimi Obina was recorded; he was born in 663, and he assumed the post of the head of Higo Province. He was also a poet and his name was in Kaifuso
. As the heads of Higo Province, there were Ki Natsui, Fujiwaha Yasumasa and Kiyohara no Motosuke
; the last one was a nobleman, waka
poet, and the father of Sei Shonagon
who wrote The Pillow Book. Unlike other governors, Kiyohara did come to Kumamoto. The ritsuryo system was introduced in the Asuka period
, and silk was transferred to the capital for taxation. This was confirmed in Wamyo Ruijusho and in Shoku Nihongi
. Fishes and rice were also items for taxation and Higo Land was a big country in this respect. Divisions of land by roads (Jourisei) were started and transportation (stations of horses) was prepared. Kokai Station was found within the campus of Kumamoto University
of Emperor Konin
, and the death of Empress Kōken
, and the title of the years was changed from Jingokeiun to Hōki
, meaning a precious turtle. Dokyo
, the lover of Empress Kōken lost power. At the same time, those under the influence of Fujiwara clan gained power among Kumamoto people over those under the influence of Ohtomo family.
, groups of samurais gained power. This was also so in the land of Higo, but powerful samurais governing a country had not appeared, until the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
. Well known groups of samurais included the Kikuchi clan
, Aso clan, Kihara of the Midorigawa area, Moroshima of Amakusa, Sagara clan of Hitoyoshi, and Kumabe ; some of them fought at the The Toi invasion
in 1019.
started with Fujiwara Noritaka who was a grandson of Fujiwara Takaie, who fought at Toi invasion
. However, this was probably a mistake, and Fujiwara Masanori, the father of Fujiwara Masanori was an inhabitant near Kikuchi area around 1070. At present, there are several views concerning its origin; 1) Local Gozoku
who worked at Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture
, 2) A descendant of Kishitsu Fukunobu from Korea, 3) A descendant of the Kukuchi family (not Kikuchi family), 4) A descendant from the Minamoto clan
. Kikuchi clan enjoyed a powerful presence in the Kikuchi area, belonging to the group in the center of Japan by presenting their land as Manorialism
or Shouen system of Japan. In the days when Taira clan
was in power, the Kikuchi clan approached the Taira clan, while Minamoto clan was in power, the Kikuchi clan favored the Minamoto clan. In the Kamakura period
, Kikuchi clan fought bravely and successfully against the enemy at Fukuoka
during the Mongol invasions of Japan
. Kikuchi Taketoki
(1292–1333) was the 12th head of the Kikuchi Clan. Emperor Go-Daigo
asked Taketoki for help him. He was Go-Daigo's first man and was awarded for this. Taketoki gathered many people in Kyūshū and was planning to attack Chinzei Tandai's Hōjō Hidetoki (Akahashi Hidetoki) but they found out about his plan and they attacked him first. Taketoki and his son Yoritaka died in this attack. However, the Kikuchi clan remained a highly powerful clan in this area.
worshipping kami
of Mount Aso
area and later became the head of Agata by presenting their land to the Yamato Ouken and later to the group in power as shoen
. They became a powerful group of samurais, and they named themselves a Dai-guji, or great Kannushi and the top of gozoku
s or samurais combined. It is said that Aso Shrine
was the earliest shrine in the Higo Province and included lower shrines such as Kengun Shrine
in Kumamoto, Kosa Shrine and Kouriura Shrine extending their area of influence.
, samurais had staged wars in almost all areas of Japan, and Shirakawa Jokyo in cloistered rule
started to control kokushis; the situation became very complex. In Kyūshū, Minamoto no Tametomo
, a hero from Kyoto had a number of legend
of doing violence. The legend of Minamoto no Tamotomo was interpreted as the uprising of groups of samurais in rural or peripheral areas of Japan against the previouly authortative groups of samurais. When Taira no Kiyomori
had power, smaller groups of samurais had to choose either siding with the Heike clan or resisting Heike clan. Azuma Kagami
The Tale of the Heike
, Genpei Jōsuiki
, (also known as Genpei Seisuiki), Rebellion of Chinzei was recorded, coinsiding with the uprising of Minamoto no Yoritomo
. However, it was not so, Kikuchi Takanao
, Aso Koreyasu and Kihara Jirou selected the way of resistance. Defeated, their groups were incorporated with the Heike clan.
covers 1185 to 1333.
Samurais in east Japan occupied the post of Soujitou, and Kikuchi clan
sided with Gotoba-joko, and lost to some extent. In 1268 and 1271, the Kamakura shogunate
rejected the proposal of envoys from Mongol for peace. It ordered all those who held fiefs in Kyūshū
to reject Mongol Invasions, including many samurai
groups from Kyūshū, including Kumamoto. Fortunately Takezaki Suenaga
left vivid pictures concerning the Mongol invasions of Japan.
(1246–1314) was a retainer of the Higo Province, Japan who fought in both battles of Mongol invasions of Japan
. Suenaga commissioned the Moko Shurai Ekotoba
, a pictorial scroll showing his own valor in war, composed in 1293. During the Mongol invasion of 1274. Suenaga fought at Fukuoka
under Muto Kagesuke. Suenaga sold his horses and saddles in order to finance a trip to Kamakura, where he reported his deeds in battle to the Shogunate. In order to receive rewards for valorous deeds from the bakufu, it was necessary for the deeds to be witnessed by others and reported to the Shogunate directly. By his own account in the scrolls, Suenaga says, "Other than advancing and having my deeds known, I have nothing else to live for", showing that, first, he wanted to advance in terms of measurable money and rank, and that, just as importantly, he sought fame and recognition.
is subdivided into the Nanboku-chō period, Muromachi period
in a smaller sense and Sengoku period
.
started to overthrow the shogunate Hōjō Takatoki
and the order was reached through Prince Kanenaga (or Prince Kaneyoshi) to various samurai groups in Kyūshū, and Kikuchi Taketoki
was killed in a battle in Fukuoka
. Kikuchi clan and Aso clan sided with Southern Court
in Kyoto
. Later, Northern Court won over the Southern Court. In order to strengthen Kikuchi clan, Kikuchi Takeshige made Yoriaishu Naidan no Koto, in 1338, meaning the rules of decision within Kikuchi clan with blood signature. This was translated into the Kikuchi Constitution, the oldest blood signature and this was stored in the Kikuchi Shrine
.
in a smaller sense. Shibukawa Mitsuyori assumed the Kyūshū branch of central government, Kyūshū Tandai, the military branch of the Ashikaga shogunate
. Kikuchi clan showed resistance, however, it approached the Ashikaga shogunate later. Kikuchi clan started to trade with Korea and gained some strength. In 1481, a large meeting for 10,000 Renga
was held in Kikuchi, the land of Kikuchi clan
showing high standards of culture was there. Later Kikuchi clan declined. Sagara families fought within their own families in Hitoyoshi area, but stayed there because the Hitoyoshi is encirled by mountains. Aso families staged conflicts within their families in the Aso
area.
is roughly between 1493 and 1572. Kikuchi clan declined, and Higo Province became the land of Field Mowing, meanig that the stronger can get the land of the weaker.
.
started to invade Kyūshū in his war in order to unify Japan and reached Kumamoto on April 16. He gave letters of reassurance of the possession of land to 52 persons in Kumamoto, and gave Sassa Narimasa
the Province of Higo. Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered that the measurements of land should not be examined in the following three years. However, Sassa Narimasa could not observe the order and conflicts started; Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the groups of samurais in Higo be destroyed. Sassa Narimasa was responsible for this conflicts and he was ordered to commit seppuku
. On the following day, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave the northern half of Higo Province to Kato Kiyomasa
and the southern half to Konishi Yukinaga
. Sagara clan in Hitoyoshi lost Yatsushiro and Ashikita, but finally the possession of Hitoyoshi was reassured. Five groups of samurais in Amakusa
resisted against Konishi Yukinaga
, but the five groups of samurais in Amakusa finally were defeated.
At the Battle of Sekigahara
, which was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600, cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu
. In Kyūshū, Kato Kiyomasa
, and other Samurais such as Kuroda, Nabeshima, Hosokawa joined the group of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Konishi Yukinawa, Shimazu, Ootomo, Tachibana went into the side of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
. Katou Kiyomasa attacked Uto castle, and he won the battle when the news of the defeat of Ishida and the capital punishment and defeat of Konishi Yukinaga reached Uto. Kato Kiyomasa was given the Province of Higo with the exception of Hitoyoshi and Amakusa
. His Kokudaka
reached 540,000 koku and he was asked to add his followers, and accepted the previous samurais belonging to Konishi Yukinaga
and Tachibana. He started to strengthen the Kumamoto Castle
and completed it in 1607. Kiyomasa was one of the three senior commanders during the Seven-Year War (1592–1598) against the Korean dynasty of Joseon. Together with Konishi Yukinaga, he captured Seoul, Busan and many other crucial cities. He defeated the last Korean regulars in the Battle of Imjin River and pacified Hamgyong.
Kiyomasa was an excellent architect of castles and fortification. During the Imjin war, he built several Japanese style castles in Korea to better defend the conquered lands. Ulsan castle was one of these fortresses that Kiyomasa built, and it proved its worth when Korean-Chinese allied forces attacked it with far superior force, yet the outnumbered Japanese successfully defended the castle until the Japanese reinforcements arrived. After the meeting of Tokugawa Iemasa
and Toyotomi Hideyori
, he died on a ship on his way to Kumamoto in 1611. His child, Katou Tadahiro, was transferred to Dewa Maruoka-han in Tohoku area in 1632, for fear of his becoming too powerful and Kato clan came to an end.
of Hosokawa clan
entered Higo Province in 1632; he declared that he respected Kato Kiyomasa
. Retired Hosokawa Tadaoki
entered Yatsushiro castle. Hosokawa Tadatoshi introduced the system of tenaga, which was larger than a village; this system had been observed in his previous Han . The top of a tenaga was originally by heritage, but later the head of tenaga was appointed from above. It was by Bureaucracy
but a more suitable system than heritage alone.
Kato Kiyomasa
, an earnest Nichiren sect Buddhist, did not like Christians. He proposed that Amakusa and Tsurusaki, Oita Prefecture
be exchanged when he obtained the land of Kumamoto, and this was realized. Gozoku
s in Amaksa repeatedly fought each other in the sengoku period
. In 1560, they realized the superiority of arquebus
which Matsuura Takanobu had introduced into local warfare.
In 1566, a gozoku asked Cosme de Torres
to send a Catholic missionary. Luís de Almeida was dispatched in the same year. He built a church with the permission of the rulers. In 1568, a congress of foreign missionaries was held in Amakusa. In 1570, missionaries baptized Shiki, Amakusa, and Amakusa ruling families. In Amakusa, 5 Ji-samurai
s also became Christian.
As a result, Catholic culture flourished. Amakusa College (College Amacusa) graduated scholars between 1591 and 1597, at Hondo or Kawaura of Amakusa. It published more than 12 books including Aesop's Fables
in Japanese in 1593 and the Tale of the Heike
(Feique No Monogatari), in 1592. with the Gutenberg press, imported from Italy by overseas scholars Ito Mansho (Mancio Ito
), Miguel Chijiwa
, Hara Maruchino, and Nakaura Julian. Upon returning, they continued their studies at Amakusa College.
was an uprising largely involving Japanese peasants, most of them Catholic Christians, in 1637 and 1638. In the wake of the Matsukura clan's construction of a new castle at Shimabara, taxes were drastically raised, which provoked anger from local peasants and lordless samurais. In addition, religious persecution against the local Christians exacerbated their discontent, which turned into open revolt in 1637. The Tokugawa Shogunate
sent a force of over 125,000 men and defeated them. The rebel leader Amakusa Shiro, a charismatic 15-year-old Christian, died when the castle fell. Executed in the aftermath of the fall, his head was displayed on a pike in Nagasaki for a very long time afterward as a warning to any other potential Christian rebels. Persecution of Christianity became strictly enforced. Japan's national seclusion policy was tightened, and formal persecution of Christianity continued until the 1850s. In 1641, Amakusa was made under the direct control of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
In 1805, 5200 underground (hidden) Christians
were found in Amakusa
. The Tokugawa Shogunate
treated this problem unexpectedly softly and recognized religious conversion
. Fumi-e had been used as a test for finding Christians.
by Yosano Tekkan, Mokutaro Kinoshita, Kitahara Hakushu
, Hirano Banri and Yoshii Isamu
.
. Tsuboi Kawa (river) had been separated from Shirakawa. Tsuboi Kawa and Iseri Kawa were made a moat of Kumamoto Castle
. Dwelling areas of Samurais were placed around Kumamoto Castle, and the areas of town people were separated. Choroku Bashi(Bridge) was the only bridge crossing Shirakawa River, it was only one for the defense of Kumamoto Castle. Suizenji Park, a Japanese style garden, was made for the exclusive use of the Hosokawa clan
in 1634. A factory for wax production was completed in 1803; the products were transported over the rivers to the sea.
Hosokawa Shigekata (January 23, 1721 – November 27, 1785) was a 6th lord of Kumamoto of Hosokawa clan, noted for successful financial reform of Kumamoto Domain. His elder brother, the 5th daimyo, unfortunately and unexpectedly was killed, he had to face financial difficulties of the Kumamoto Han. The deficits at the time of his father reached 400,000 ryo, Tael. The finance of his Han had worsened because of the policy of the Tokugawa shogunate
which requested the Sankin kotai
.
. Hori immediately went to Osaka to negotiate with Kohnoike family and others for loan, but the Osaka rich families refused the request of Kumamoto han. Then, Hori was successful in borrowing a huge sum of money from Kajimaya in return for the 100,000 koku or rice of Kumamoto Han. Kajimaya requested considerable reduced financial policy of Kumamoto han. Originally, 100 koku of samurais meant 40 koku of rice, or the samurai obtained 40 %. After the reform, 20 koku per 100 koku went to a samurai, and then 13 koku, this meant a reduction of 65 %. Kokudaka
or the system of koku refers to a system for determining land value for tribute purposes in Edo period Japan and expressing this value in koku of rice. This tribute was no longer the percentage of the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was assessed based on the quality and size of the land. The system was used to value the incomes of daimyo, or samurais under daimyo.
, epidemic and increased mortality. In 1634 ,there was a considerable famine which was said to lead to Shimabara Rebellion
of 1637. The reduced production of rice was observed occasionally from time to time; 1729 was also the year of famine, and it was recorded that only there was only 11% of yearly production. In addition to famine, there was a peculiar tsunami. In 1792, a large mountain Mayu Yama(Maeyama), at the foot of Volcano Unzen, Nagasaki Prefecture
collapsed with volcanic earthquakes, producing a great tsunami, attacking the seashore of Kumamoto Prefecture. In all, 15,000 people died. This was the second largest tsunami, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
..
Bakumatsu was a period toward the end of Tokugawa Shogunate
. Yokoi Shōnan (1809–1869) was a scholar and political reformer in Japan, influential around the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate
. Yokoi was a samurai born in Kumamoto, was sent by the domain to Edo in 1839 for studies, and developed contacts with pro-reform members of the Mito domain. After his return to Kumamoto, he started a group to promote the reform of domain administration along Neo-Confucianism lines. In 1857, he was invited by the daimyo of Echizen, Matsudaira Yoshinaga
to become his political advisor. Although he was highly evaluated at that time, he was assassinated in 1869.
There was a chain of events from the Bakumatsu, Meiji Restoration
(1868), Abolition of the han system
(1871) and Satsuma Rebellion
(1877). The name of the Prefecture was finally made Kumamoto Prefecture in 1876.
in 1877, the 6th Infantry Division was formed in Kumamoto City on May 12, 1888, as one of the new divisions to be created after the reorganization of the Imperial Japanese Army away from six regional commands and into a divisional command structure. The headquarters were placed in the Kumamoto Castle
, with the infantry battalion, the cavalry battalion and artillery battalion, and this nature came to an end at the end of World WarⅡ. Japan experienced the First Sino-Japanese War
in 1895 and 1896. After the Russo-Japanese War
, Kumamoto accepted about 5,000 prisoners of war at Toroku. A large-scale military exercise
was held in Kumamoto with Emperor Hirohito
in 1931.
, blocked traffic and the development of Kumamoto City. In consideration of public opinions, other military buildings were transferred to Toroku and Oe Mura, but the Yamasaki Training place was still there. At the cost of Kumamoto City, it moved to Oe Mura, starting as late as 1898. In the wake of the Yamasaki Training place, Renpei Cho and Karashima(the name of the then mayor) Cho were named, and Shinshigai became the busiest section of Kumamoto City. In 1907, Kumamoto Light railway
company started, which later changed to Kumamoto Electoric Railway Company and then to streetcars. Public organizations were invited, such as the 5th Higher Middle School in 1887 which changed to the 5th High School in 1894, Tobacco Monopoly Bureau in 1911. Infrastructure such as construction of roads, water supply(1924), streetcars was completed, which was the basis of development of Kumamoto City.
, and the greatest one on June 30 and July 1, 1945. About one third of the city was burned, and more than 300 people died. After the war, there were a considerable number of floods after typhoons attacking Japan, possibly due to deforestation and delay in river control. In June 1953, there was a combination of Mount Aso
eruption and 1953 North Kyushu Flood
, causing debris flows into the center of Kumamoto city, and more than 500 people died in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Various dams, such as Ichifusa dam, Midorikawa dam, Ryumon dam, have been constructed to prevent another disaster. Tateno dam is under construction. 1973 Taiyo Department Store fire
occurred in the center of Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. The fire started at 1:15 pm on November 29, 1973; killing 103 people. After the fire, regulations pertaining to the construction of buildings were strengthened, one of which was the building of external steps outside of the high-storied buildings.
linked the Kyūshū Mainland, Kumamoto Prefecture and Amakusa Islands, on September 24, 1966. The Five Bridges not only gave hope and confidence in the development of Japan's bridge construction technology, but also changed the whole aspects of lives in Amakusa
Islands including industries. Mount Aso
(National Park in 1931) and Amakusa became attractions of sightseeing of Kumamoto Prefecture.
The Chisso Corporation (チッソ株式会社, Chisso kabushiki kaisha) started a factory in Minamata city in 1908. It was in 1956 that Minamata disease which was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the factory was discovered. The symptoms of the disease include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. As of March 2001, 2,265 victims had been officially recognised (1,784 of whom had died) and over 10,000 had received financial compensation from Chisso. By 2004, Chisso Corporation had paid $86 million in compensation. On March 29, 2010, a settlement was reached to compensate as-yet uncertified victims.
Kumamoto Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system...
is an eastern half of Hinokuni (The land of Hi, fire), corresponding to the Higo Province as called in days gone by. Exceptions are the part of Kuma gun or Kuma Districts of Japan
Districts of Japan
The was most recently used as an administrative unit in Japan between 1878 and 1921 and is roughly equivalent to the county of the United States, ranking at the level below prefecture and above city, town or village. As of 2008, cities belong directly to prefectures and are independent from...
which had once been included in Sagara Domain
Sagara Domain
' was a Japanese feudal domain of the Edo period, located in Tōtōmi Province. Yokosuka was a Fudai domain. It was centered in what is now the Sagara district of Makinohara city, Shizuoka Prefecture.-History:...
and Nagashima which is included in Kagoshima Prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
. Kumamoto Prefecture roughly corresponds to traditional Higo Provice, like Miyazaki Prefecture which corresponds to Hyuga Province.
Kumamoto Prefecture is roughly divided into three areas, namely, the northern area with Kikuchi River
Kikuchi River
The Kikuchi River flows through the northern part of Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan. It rises near Mt. Aso and flows west through the Kikuchi Valley. It turns south near Kikusui and empties into the Shimabara Bay. Land reclamation is taking place at its mouth.The river has a total length of...
, Shirakawa River
Shirakawa River
The is a river in the Kyoto prefecture of Japan. It flows into the Kamo River.Its name means "white river" in Japanese, due to the fine-grained white sand that it carries from the hills east of Kyoto....
and Mount Aso
Mount Aso
is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world...
Area; the Kumagawa Area including the Hitoyoshi Basin and the Amakusa Island Area. The first one is the Kumamoto han, and the second the Hitoyoshi han and the third one is the Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
controlled Amakusa Area.
Characteristics of history of Kumamoto
The history of Kumamoto is characterized by kofunKofun
Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. They gave their name to the Kofun period . Many of the Kofun have a distinctive keyhole-shaped mound , unique to ancient Japan...
s in natural beauties or volcanic activitites, the Ritsuryo
Ritsuryo
is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei"...
and the following rise of samurais, the arrival of Kato Kiyomasa
Kato Kiyomasa
was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...
from Nagoya, wars around the Bakumatsu including the Satsuma Rebellion
Satsuma Rebellion
The was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...
, and public problems concerning Minamata disease
Minamata disease
', sometimes referred to as , is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and death...
. After the establishment of the Yamato Government or Yamato Ouken, the history of Kumamoto has been constantly under the influence of the Central Government.
Prehistoric Kumamoto
About one thirds of archaeological sites of the lower paleolithicLower Paleolithic
The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 2.5 million years ago when the first evidence of craft and use of stone tools by hominids appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the...
age in Japan were found in Kumamoto Prefecture. However, only a few areas were excavated. Mainly these were distributed in the outer Aso mountain areas and Kuma district. The oldest one is the Ishinomoto Site in Hirayama machi in Kumamoto City; dating back more than 30,000 years ago by the radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
method. A large number of artifacts (archaeology) or stone tool
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
s such as stone axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
s and knives were excavated, suggesting that Kyūshū had been nice places for living as a hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
society. However, at the same time, Kyūshū experienced great volcanic activities by the activities of Mount Aso
Mount Aso
is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world...
, Aira Caldera
Aira Caldera
Aira Caldera is a gigantic volcanic caldera in the south of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. The caldera was created by a massive eruption, approximately 22,000 years ago. Eruption of voluminous pyroclastic flows accompanied the formation of the 17 × 23 km-wide Aira caldera...
in Kagoshima Prefecture and Kikai Caldera
Kikai Caldera
is a massive, mostly submerged caldera up to in diameter in the Ōsumi Islands of Kagoshima prefecture, Japan. It is the remains of the ancient eruption of a gigantic volcano....
. There were four large series of Mount Aso
Mount Aso
is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world...
volcanic activities with structural changes, the last one was about 90,000 years ago. The lava belts thus produced presented stone materials for bridge construction in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Jomon period
In the early part of the Jomon periodJomon period
The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14,000 BC to 300 BC.The term jōmon means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the pottery style characteristic of the Jōmon culture, and which has markings made using sticks with cords wrapped around them...
, there were no rich exvacations in the Kumamoto Prefecture, because of the volcanic activitites about 7300 years ago by the Kikai Caldera
Kikai Caldera
is a massive, mostly submerged caldera up to in diameter in the Ōsumi Islands of Kagoshima prefecture, Japan. It is the remains of the ancient eruption of a gigantic volcano....
in Kagoshima Prefecture. In the middle age of the Jomon period were Goryo midden
Midden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
and Kurohashi midden. Later, 13 middens in Kumamoto were situated at the height of 5 meters above sea level. In Souhata midden, acorns were found stored. Fish hooks made of stone were found in Amakusa
Amakusa
Amakusa is a series of islands belonging to Japan, off the west coast of Kyushu . The biggest of the Amakusa islands is Shimoshima Island, 26.5 miles long and 13.5 miles in extreme width...
. A peculiar style of earthenware
Earthenware
Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...
called kokushokukenmadoki was developed according to the development of living styles. Burned rice corns and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
corns were found in a dugout (shelter)
Dugout (shelter)
A dugout or dug-out, also known as a pithouse, pit-house, earth lodge, mud hut, is a shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug into the ground. These structures are one of the most ancient types of human housing known to archeologists...
dwelling in Uenobaru midden in Kumamoto City. 770 Archaeological sites were found in the Jomon period in Kumamoto Prefecture, including Kannabe midden, Kumamoto in which Dogū
Dogu
are small humanoid and animal figurines made during the late Jōmon period of prehistoric Japan. Dogū come entirely from the Jōmon period and do not continue into the Yayoi period. There are various styles of Dogū, depending on exhumation area and time period...
s and ground stone
Ground stone
In archaeology, ground stone is a category of stone tool formed by the grinding of a coarse-grained tool stone, either purposely or incidentally. Ground stone tools are usually made of basalt, rhyolite, granite, or other macrocrystalline igneous stones whose coarse structure makes them ideal for...
s were found.
Yayoi period
- In the Yayoi periodYayoi periodThe is an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC to 300 AD. It is named after the neighbourhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new...
, there appeared dwellings in ring-formed groups in which onggiOnggiOnggi are Korean ethnic earthenware, which were extensively used as tableware as well as storage containers in Korea. It includes both unglazed earthenware fired near 600~700°C and pottery with a dark brown glaze that burnt over 1100°C....
s, tsubo jars, and stone axeAxeThe axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
s were found. Dwellings rose into higher places, moving from the seashores. Cultivation and agriculture started in the Yayoi period, because the Kumamoto plane started to rise because of stream sediments from the rivers. Cultivation of rice started, while there were shell heaps along the seashore. Salt was produced by burning sea weeds; which was verified by the presence of burned small seashells. In later years, there were middens with ironware along the Kurokawa river, Shirakawa river and Kikuchigawa River and in the Futagozuka midden in Kumamoto City, suggesting the production of ironware there. In Yayoi period, there were 740 middens in Kumamoto Prefecture, comprising 13% of middens in Japan. In Tokuo midden and Kogabaru midden, bronze mirrors were excavated.
Hino Kuni or the Land of Hi(fire) and Yamato Ouken
In Nihon ShokiNihon Shoki
The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical...
, Japan's earliest official document, the early countries of Yamato Ouken, Wa (Japan)
Wa (Japan)
Japanese is the oldest recorded name of Japan. Chinese, Korean, and Japanese scribes regularly wrote Wa or Yamato "Japan" with the Chinese character 倭 until the 8th century, when the Japanese found fault with it, replacing it with 和 "harmony, peace, balance".- Historical references :The earliest...
, appointed a king of small area which came under the Yamato Ouken, a head of agata (Agata Nushi). Yamato Ouken is considered to be the forerunner of the Japan's Imperial House of Japan
Imperial House of Japan
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the Yamato Dynasty, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the symbol of the state and unity of the people...
existing in the Nara
Nara Prefecture
is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....
area or somewhere and started in the 3rd century. In the same document and in Chikushi-koku-fudoki, there were three Agatas or Districts in the present Kumamoto Prefecture, Kuma agata, corresponding to Kuma Area, Asonken, corresponding to the Mount Aso
Mount Aso
is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world...
area and Yatsushiro area, which is considered to be larger than today. Near the Uto Peninsula area are about 120 large kofun
Kofun
Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. They gave their name to the Kofun period . Many of the Kofun have a distinctive keyhole-shaped mound , unique to ancient Japan...
s, or megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. In Kumamoto Prefecture, there are a concentrated distribution of decorated kofuns, in which various patterns were drawn, for instance, breasts of a woman in Chibusan kofun in Yamaga city. In another kofun in Uto city, the burial of a woman in her thirties was confirmed, suggesting the presence of Miko or a shaman. It was a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
. A sword in a kofun named Etafunayamakofun
Eta Funayama Sword
in Japan is a 5th century ancient iron sword excavated from the Eta Funayama kofun in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan in 1873. The inscription on the blade shows the era of Emperor Yūryaku in the 5th century...
had Chinese characters describing Emperor Yūryaku
Emperor Yuryaku
was the 21st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Yūryaku is remembered as a patron of sericulture.No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 456–479....
（in kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
), Historian Wakatakeru has suggested that this area was under the control of Yamato Ouken. One of the gozoku
Gozoku
is a Japanese term used to refer to powerful and wealthy families. In historical context, it usually refers to local samurai clans with significant local land holdings. Some were almost locally independent, and held strong ties to important commoners such as wealthy merchants...
s was named Takebe-no-Kimi, a family of samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
nature, who was given such a name by Yamato Ouken, and who was assumed to live near Kokai-Honmachi；in those days, near Takebe.
- A group of kofuns at Nozu are considered to be the site of Hinokimi or the King of fire or Hi river. Hinokimi was a gozoku of that area. He was considered to be a descendant of one who answered to Emperor KeikoEmperor Keiko; also known as Ootarashihikooshirowake no Sumeramikoto, was the 12th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 71–130.-Legendary narrative:Keikō is...
that the fire on the sea was he did not know (Shiranui).- Mythology: In the days of mythology, Emperor Keiko in his journey for expanding the Yamato Ouken, saw unexplainable spots of moving fire, Shiranui, (In Japanese, literally "unknown fire") in Ariake SeaAriake SeaThe is a body of salt water surrounded by Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, and Kumamoto Prefectures, all of which lie on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. It is the largest bay in Kyūshū. Its deepest point is only about 50 m deep, and extreme tides exceed 4 m. It is used for aquaculture, with nori...
, and a Gozoku in that land replied that he did not know the fire, the origin of Shiranui. Today, it can be seen only on one day or so, and it is an optical phenomenon on the horizon of seeing moving spots of fire caused by fishing boats through heated air layers or Shiranui.
- Mythology: In the days of mythology, Emperor Keiko in his journey for expanding the Yamato Ouken, saw unexplainable spots of moving fire, Shiranui, (In Japanese, literally "unknown fire") in Ariake Sea
- Kofuns in Kumamoto Prefecture are 1300 in number, and comprise 24% of kofuns in this country. There were various pieces of evidence that in the early times, this area had been under the influence of Yamato Ouken; an important local area of the Yamato Ouken such as the presence of Kasuga Miyake in Kumamoto. After the Iwai RebellionIwai RebellionThe was a rebellion against the Yamato court that took place in Tsukushi, Japan in 527 AD. The rebellion was named after its leader, Iwai, who is believed by historians to have been a powerful governor of Tsukushi. The rebellion was quelled by the Yamato court, and played an important part in the...
in 527 AD, in Fukuoka PrefectureFukuoka Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....
was quelled by the Yamato court, the in 527 AD. The rebellion was named after its leader, Iwai, who is believed by historians to have been a powerful governor of Tsukushi. The rebellion was quelled by the Yamato court, and played an important part in the consolidation of early Japan. The eruption of Mount Aso was described in the Book of SuiBook of SuiThe Book of Sui was the official history of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty, and it ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was compiled by a team of historians led by the Tang Dynasty official Wei Zheng and was completed in 636.-External links:* of the Book of Sui,...
, probably through the influence of Yamato Ouken.
Explanation of Yamato Ouken
There are various Japanese names for a political/governmental organization present starting in the third century of kofun periodKofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538. It follows the Yayoi period. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period...
in Kinki area of Japan, composed of several powerful families, with Oh (king) or Ohkimi (great king) as its center. These names include Yamato Choutei (Court), Yamato Ouken, Wa Ouken, and Yamato Seiken. At the same time, there are views that the presence of smaller regional states should be respected. At the present time, Yamato Chotei (Yamato Court) is employed in the textbooks censored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. There is a view that Choutei (Court) should not be used before the 4th and 5th century. At the present time, Yamato Ouken is tentatively used here.
The name of Higo and the Ritsuryo system
The name, Higo first appeared in Nihon ShokiNihon Shoki
The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical...
, the official history of Japan, in its description of a soldier who returned from the Tang empire
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
after 33 years of captivity after the Battle of Baekgang
Battle of Baekgang
The Battle of Baekgang, also known as Battle of Baekgang-gu or by the Japanese name Battle of Hakusukinoe , was a battle between Baekje restoration forces and their ally, Yamato Japan, against the allied forces of Silla and the Tang Dynasty of ancient China...
; he was Mibu no Moroishi of Kohshi gun of Higo Province. It was in 696. In the same book, the construction of Kukuchi castle in preparation of a possible attack, was described in 696. This castle is considered to be a storage place. Under the ritsuryo
Ritsuryo
is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei"...
system of Japan, a branch of the central government called Kokufu was placed in areas under the influence of the central government. In Kumamoto Prefecture, Kokufu, was placed in Mashiki in Wamyo Ruijusho
Wamyo Ruijusho
The is a 938 CE Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters. The Heian Period scholar Minamoto no Shitagō began compilation in 934, at the request of Emperor Daigo's daughter...
and in other places in other books. As the name of a place, Kokubu(or -fu) was in Kumamoto city, and there was a building in the 9th century; which was found destroyed in a flood. As a government post, Higonokami Michinokimi Obina was recorded; he was born in 663, and he assumed the post of the head of Higo Province. He was also a poet and his name was in Kaifuso
Kaifuso
is the oldest collection of Chinese poetry written by Japanese poets.It was created by an unknown compiler in 751. In the brief introductions of the poets, the unknown writer seems sympathic to Emperor Kōbun and his regents who were overthrown in 672 by Emperor Temmu after only eight months of the...
. As the heads of Higo Province, there were Ki Natsui, Fujiwaha Yasumasa and Kiyohara no Motosuke
Kiyohara no Motosuke
was a Heian period waka poet and Japanese nobleman. His daughter was the Heian poet and author Sei Shōnagon, famous today for writing The Pillow Book. He is designated as a member of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals, and one of his poems is included in the famous Ogura Hyakunin Isshu...
; the last one was a nobleman, waka
Waka (poetry)
Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
poet, and the father of Sei Shonagon
Sei Shonagon
Sei Shōnagon , was a Japanese author and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Pillow Book .-Name:...
who wrote The Pillow Book. Unlike other governors, Kiyohara did come to Kumamoto. The ritsuryo system was introduced in the Asuka period
Asuka period
The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...
, and silk was transferred to the capital for taxation. This was confirmed in Wamyo Ruijusho and in Shoku Nihongi
Shoku Nihongi
The is an imperially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the Six National Histories, coming directly after the Nihon Shoki and followed by Nihon Kōki. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi served as the primary editors...
. Fishes and rice were also items for taxation and Higo Land was a big country in this respect. Divisions of land by roads (Jourisei) were started and transportation (stations of horses) was prepared. Kokai Station was found within the campus of Kumamoto University
White turtles
In 768, a white turtle was presented to Yamato Ouken from Ashikita, and in 771, two white turtles were presented from Ashikita, and Mashiki, both from Kumamoto coinciding with the enthronementEnthronement
An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. This ritual is generally distinguished from a coronation because there is no crown or other regalia that is physically...
of Emperor Konin
Emperor Konin
was the 49th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Kōnin's reign lasted from 770 to 781.-Traditional narrative:The personal name of Emperor Kōnin was given was As a son of Imperial Prince Shiki and a grandson of Emperor Tenji., his formal style was Prince Shirakabe...
, and the death of Empress Kōken
Empress Koken
, also known as , was the 46th and the 48th emperor of Japan respectively, according to the traditional order of succession. Empress Kōken first reigned from 749 to 758, then she reascended the throne as Empress Shōtoku from 765 until her death in 770....
, and the title of the years was changed from Jingokeiun to Hōki
Hoki
Hoki can mean:* Hōki Province, was an old province of Japan, today part of the Tottori Prefecture.* Hōki, Tottori, a town in Japan.* Hōki, a Japanese era name from 770 through 781....
, meaning a precious turtle. Dokyo
Dokyo
was a Nara Period Japanese monk of the Dharma character school. As he was born in the family of Yuge, in the lineage of the Mononobe clan, Dōkyō was also known as . He was the brother of Yuge no Kiyoto.-Background:...
, the lover of Empress Kōken lost power. At the same time, those under the influence of Fujiwara clan gained power among Kumamoto people over those under the influence of Ohtomo family.
The rise of Samurai; Kikuchi Clan and Aso Clan
In the latter part of Heian periodHeian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
, groups of samurais gained power. This was also so in the land of Higo, but powerful samurais governing a country had not appeared, until the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
. Well known groups of samurais included the Kikuchi clan
Kikuchi clan
The of Higo Province was a powerful daimyo family of Higo, Kyūshū. The Kikuchi lineage was renowned for its valiant service in defense of the emperor and against foreign invaders. The clan first distinguished itself during the Jürchen invasion of northern Kyūshū in 1019...
, Aso clan, Kihara of the Midorigawa area, Moroshima of Amakusa, Sagara clan of Hitoyoshi, and Kumabe ; some of them fought at the The Toi invasion
Toi invasion
The Toi invasion was the invasion of northern Kyūshū by Jurchen pirates in 1019. Toi meant barbarian in the Korean language at the time....
in 1019.
Kikuchi Clan
Kikuchi clanKikuchi clan
The of Higo Province was a powerful daimyo family of Higo, Kyūshū. The Kikuchi lineage was renowned for its valiant service in defense of the emperor and against foreign invaders. The clan first distinguished itself during the Jürchen invasion of northern Kyūshū in 1019...
started with Fujiwara Noritaka who was a grandson of Fujiwara Takaie, who fought at Toi invasion
Toi invasion
The Toi invasion was the invasion of northern Kyūshū by Jurchen pirates in 1019. Toi meant barbarian in the Korean language at the time....
. However, this was probably a mistake, and Fujiwara Masanori, the father of Fujiwara Masanori was an inhabitant near Kikuchi area around 1070. At present, there are several views concerning its origin; 1) Local Gozoku
Gozoku
is a Japanese term used to refer to powerful and wealthy families. In historical context, it usually refers to local samurai clans with significant local land holdings. Some were almost locally independent, and held strong ties to important commoners such as wealthy merchants...
who worked at Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....
, 2) A descendant of Kishitsu Fukunobu from Korea, 3) A descendant of the Kukuchi family (not Kikuchi family), 4) A descendant from the Minamoto clan
Minamoto clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period , although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of...
. Kikuchi clan enjoyed a powerful presence in the Kikuchi area, belonging to the group in the center of Japan by presenting their land as Manorialism
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
or Shouen system of Japan. In the days when Taira clan
Taira clan
The was a major Japanese clan of samurai in historical Japan.In reference to Japanese history, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects...
was in power, the Kikuchi clan approached the Taira clan, while Minamoto clan was in power, the Kikuchi clan favored the Minamoto clan. In the Kamakura period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
, Kikuchi clan fought bravely and successfully against the enemy at Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
during the Mongol invasions of Japan
Mongol invasions of Japan
The ' of 1274 and 1281 were major military efforts undertaken by Kublai Khan to conquer the Japanese islands after the submission of Goryeo to vassaldom. Despite their ultimate failure, the invasion attempts are of macrohistorical importance, because they set a limit on Mongol expansion, and rank...
. Kikuchi Taketoki
Kikuchi Taketoki
Kikuchi Ikejiro nyudo Jakua was the 12th head of the Kikuchi Clan. He was born the second son of Kikuchi Takamori and he was the younger brother of Kikuchi Tokitaka . His child name was Shoryumaru. During his life, he would also use the name Jakua. His father Takamori died before his grandfather...
(1292–1333) was the 12th head of the Kikuchi Clan. Emperor Go-Daigo
Emperor Go-Daigo
Emperor Go-Daigo was the 96th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession....
asked Taketoki for help him. He was Go-Daigo's first man and was awarded for this. Taketoki gathered many people in Kyūshū and was planning to attack Chinzei Tandai's Hōjō Hidetoki (Akahashi Hidetoki) but they found out about his plan and they attacked him first. Taketoki and his son Yoritaka died in this attack. However, the Kikuchi clan remained a highly powerful clan in this area.
Aso Clan
Aso clan started with KannushiKannushi
A , also called , is the person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine as well as for leading worship of a given kami. The characters for kannushi are sometimes also read jinshu with the same meaning....
worshipping kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
of Mount Aso
Mount Aso
is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world...
area and later became the head of Agata by presenting their land to the Yamato Ouken and later to the group in power as shoen
Shoen
A was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term zhuangyuan.Shōen, from about the 8th to the late 15th century, describes any of the private, tax-free, often autonomous estates or manors whose rise undermined the political and economic power of the...
. They became a powerful group of samurais, and they named themselves a Dai-guji, or great Kannushi and the top of gozoku
Gozoku
is a Japanese term used to refer to powerful and wealthy families. In historical context, it usually refers to local samurai clans with significant local land holdings. Some were almost locally independent, and held strong ties to important commoners such as wealthy merchants...
s or samurais combined. It is said that Aso Shrine
Aso Shrine
is a Shinto Shrine in Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, Aso is one of the oldest and most prominent shrines in Japan. This shrine holds several Important Cultural Properties, such as Ichi-no-shinden （一の神殿）, Ni-no-shinden （二の神殿）, Rōmon （楼門） etc....
was the earliest shrine in the Higo Province and included lower shrines such as Kengun Shrine
Kengun Shrine
Kengun Shrine is the oldest traditional shrine in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the 4 shrines of Aso Shrine group .-Legend:...
in Kumamoto, Kosa Shrine and Kouriura Shrine extending their area of influence.
Legend of Minamoto no Tametomo
In the latter half of Heian periodHeian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
, samurais had staged wars in almost all areas of Japan, and Shirakawa Jokyo in cloistered rule
Cloistered rule
The Insei system , or cloistered rule, was a specific form of government in Japan during the Heian period. In this bifurcated system, an Emperor abdicated, but he retained power and influence. The emperors who withdrew to live in monasteries continued to act in ways which were intended to...
started to control kokushis; the situation became very complex. In Kyūshū, Minamoto no Tametomo
Minamoto no Tametomo
was a samurai who fought in the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156. He was the son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi, and brother to Yukiie and Yoshitomo....
, a hero from Kyoto had a number of legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
of doing violence. The legend of Minamoto no Tamotomo was interpreted as the uprising of groups of samurais in rural or peripheral areas of Japan against the previouly authortative groups of samurais. When Taira no Kiyomori
Taira no Kiyomori
was a general of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan.After the death of his father Taira no Tadamori in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and ambitiously entered the political realm in which he...
had power, smaller groups of samurais had to choose either siding with the Heike clan or resisting Heike clan. Azuma Kagami
Azuma Kagami
The , or "mirror of the east", is a Japanese medieval text that chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō and his return to Kyoto in 1266...
The Tale of the Heike
The Tale of the Heike
is an epic account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War...
, Genpei Jōsuiki
Genpei Josuiki
The , is a 48-book extended version of the Heike Monogatari. -External links:* , University of Virginia Library...
, (also known as Genpei Seisuiki), Rebellion of Chinzei was recorded, coinsiding with the uprising of Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...
. However, it was not so, Kikuchi Takanao
Kikuchi Takanao
is a Japanese warrior, nobleman . He can also can be referred to as Kikuchi no Jiro Takanao or Kikuchi Higo-Gon-no-Kami Takanao....
, Aso Koreyasu and Kihara Jirou selected the way of resistance. Defeated, their groups were incorporated with the Heike clan.
Kamakura Shogunate and Mongol invasions of Japan
The Kamakura periodKamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
covers 1185 to 1333.
Samurais in east Japan occupied the post of Soujitou, and Kikuchi clan
Kikuchi clan
The of Higo Province was a powerful daimyo family of Higo, Kyūshū. The Kikuchi lineage was renowned for its valiant service in defense of the emperor and against foreign invaders. The clan first distinguished itself during the Jürchen invasion of northern Kyūshū in 1019...
sided with Gotoba-joko, and lost to some extent. In 1268 and 1271, the Kamakura shogunate
Kamakura shogunate
The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...
rejected the proposal of envoys from Mongol for peace. It ordered all those who held fiefs in Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
to reject Mongol Invasions, including many samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
groups from Kyūshū, including Kumamoto. Fortunately Takezaki Suenaga
Takezaki Suenaga
was a retainer of the Higo Province, Japan who fought in both the Battle of Bun'ei and the Battle of Kōan during the Mongol invasions of Japan. Suenaga commissioned the Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba, a pictorial scroll showing his own valor in war, composed in 1293. During the Mongol invasion of 1274,...
left vivid pictures concerning the Mongol invasions of Japan.
Takezaki Suenaga
Takezaki SuenagaTakezaki Suenaga
was a retainer of the Higo Province, Japan who fought in both the Battle of Bun'ei and the Battle of Kōan during the Mongol invasions of Japan. Suenaga commissioned the Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba, a pictorial scroll showing his own valor in war, composed in 1293. During the Mongol invasion of 1274,...
(1246–1314) was a retainer of the Higo Province, Japan who fought in both battles of Mongol invasions of Japan
Mongol invasions of Japan
The ' of 1274 and 1281 were major military efforts undertaken by Kublai Khan to conquer the Japanese islands after the submission of Goryeo to vassaldom. Despite their ultimate failure, the invasion attempts are of macrohistorical importance, because they set a limit on Mongol expansion, and rank...
. Suenaga commissioned the Moko Shurai Ekotoba
Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba
is a set of two Japanese illustrated handscrolls composed between 1275 and 1293. They were commissioned by the samurai Takezaki Suenaga in order to record his battlefield valor and deeds during the Mongol Invasions of Japan....
, a pictorial scroll showing his own valor in war, composed in 1293. During the Mongol invasion of 1274. Suenaga fought at Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
under Muto Kagesuke. Suenaga sold his horses and saddles in order to finance a trip to Kamakura, where he reported his deeds in battle to the Shogunate. In order to receive rewards for valorous deeds from the bakufu, it was necessary for the deeds to be witnessed by others and reported to the Shogunate directly. By his own account in the scrolls, Suenaga says, "Other than advancing and having my deeds known, I have nothing else to live for", showing that, first, he wanted to advance in terms of measurable money and rank, and that, just as importantly, he sought fame and recognition.
Muromachi period
Muromachi periodMuromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
is subdivided into the Nanboku-chō period, Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
in a smaller sense and Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
.
Nanboku-chō period
Nanboku-chō period is between 1336 and 1392. Emperor Go-DaigoEmperor Go-Daigo
Emperor Go-Daigo was the 96th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession....
started to overthrow the shogunate Hōjō Takatoki
Hojo Takatoki
Hōjō Takatoki was the last Tokuso and ruling Shikken of Japan's Kamakura shogunate; the latter ones were his puppets, a member of the Hōjō clan, he was the son of Hōjō Sadatoki, and was preceded as shikken by Hōjō Morotoki.Takatoki became regent at the age of eight, and thus actual power was...
and the order was reached through Prince Kanenaga (or Prince Kaneyoshi) to various samurai groups in Kyūshū, and Kikuchi Taketoki
Kikuchi Taketoki
Kikuchi Ikejiro nyudo Jakua was the 12th head of the Kikuchi Clan. He was born the second son of Kikuchi Takamori and he was the younger brother of Kikuchi Tokitaka . His child name was Shoryumaru. During his life, he would also use the name Jakua. His father Takamori died before his grandfather...
was killed in a battle in Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
. Kikuchi clan and Aso clan sided with Southern Court
Southern Court
The were a set of four emperors whose legitimate claims were usurped during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392. In spite of the legitimacy of its claims to the throne, the Southern Court was permanently replaced in 1392 by the illegitimate Northern Court.-Nanboku-chō overview:...
in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. Later, Northern Court won over the Southern Court. In order to strengthen Kikuchi clan, Kikuchi Takeshige made Yoriaishu Naidan no Koto, in 1338, meaning the rules of decision within Kikuchi clan with blood signature. This was translated into the Kikuchi Constitution, the oldest blood signature and this was stored in the Kikuchi Shrine
Kikuchi Shrine
is a Shinto shrine in Kikuchi, Kumamoto Prefecture, in which Kikuchi Taketoki , Kikuchi Takeshige and Kikuchi Takemitsu are enshrined.-Another Kikuchi Shrine :...
.
Muromachi period
Muromachi periodMuromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
in a smaller sense. Shibukawa Mitsuyori assumed the Kyūshū branch of central government, Kyūshū Tandai, the military branch of the Ashikaga shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...
. Kikuchi clan showed resistance, however, it approached the Ashikaga shogunate later. Kikuchi clan started to trade with Korea and gained some strength. In 1481, a large meeting for 10,000 Renga
Renga
' is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry. A renga consists of at least two or stanzas, usually many more. The opening stanza of the renga, called the , became the basis for the modern haiku form of poetry....
was held in Kikuchi, the land of Kikuchi clan
Kikuchi clan
The of Higo Province was a powerful daimyo family of Higo, Kyūshū. The Kikuchi lineage was renowned for its valiant service in defense of the emperor and against foreign invaders. The clan first distinguished itself during the Jürchen invasion of northern Kyūshū in 1019...
showing high standards of culture was there. Later Kikuchi clan declined. Sagara families fought within their own families in Hitoyoshi area, but stayed there because the Hitoyoshi is encirled by mountains. Aso families staged conflicts within their families in the Aso
Aso, Kumamoto
is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.The city was formed on February 11, 2005 from the merger of the former town of Aso with the town of Ichinomiya, and the village of Namino, all from Aso District....
area.
Sengoku period
Sengoku periodSengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
is roughly between 1493 and 1572. Kikuchi clan declined, and Higo Province became the land of Field Mowing, meanig that the stronger can get the land of the weaker.
Azuchi-Momoyama period
Azuchi–Momoyama period was from 1573 to 1603. It was followed by Edo periodEdo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
.
Sassa Narimasa
In 1587, Toyotomi HideyoshiToyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
started to invade Kyūshū in his war in order to unify Japan and reached Kumamoto on April 16. He gave letters of reassurance of the possession of land to 52 persons in Kumamoto, and gave Sassa Narimasa
Sassa Narimasa
, also known as Kura-no-suke , was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama period. He became a retainer of Oda Nobunaga in 1550 and was granted Etchū Province as a reward for helping Shibata Katsuie fight the Uesugi clan. After Nobunaga's death, in 1584 he joined Tokugawa Ieyasu...
the Province of Higo. Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered that the measurements of land should not be examined in the following three years. However, Sassa Narimasa could not observe the order and conflicts started; Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the groups of samurais in Higo be destroyed. Sassa Narimasa was responsible for this conflicts and he was ordered to commit seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
. On the following day, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave the northern half of Higo Province to Kato Kiyomasa
Kato Kiyomasa
was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...
and the southern half to Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryūsa...
. Sagara clan in Hitoyoshi lost Yatsushiro and Ashikita, but finally the possession of Hitoyoshi was reassured. Five groups of samurais in Amakusa
Amakusa
Amakusa is a series of islands belonging to Japan, off the west coast of Kyushu . The biggest of the Amakusa islands is Shimoshima Island, 26.5 miles long and 13.5 miles in extreme width...
resisted against Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryūsa...
, but the five groups of samurais in Amakusa finally were defeated.
Kato Kiyomasa
Battle of Sekigahara
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...
, which was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600, cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
. In Kyūshū, Kato Kiyomasa
Kato Kiyomasa
was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...
, and other Samurais such as Kuroda, Nabeshima, Hosokawa joined the group of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Konishi Yukinawa, Shimazu, Ootomo, Tachibana went into the side of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
. Katou Kiyomasa attacked Uto castle, and he won the battle when the news of the defeat of Ishida and the capital punishment and defeat of Konishi Yukinaga reached Uto. Kato Kiyomasa was given the Province of Higo with the exception of Hitoyoshi and Amakusa
Amakusa
Amakusa is a series of islands belonging to Japan, off the west coast of Kyushu . The biggest of the Amakusa islands is Shimoshima Island, 26.5 miles long and 13.5 miles in extreme width...
. His Kokudaka
Kokudaka
refers to a system for determining land value for tribute purposes in Edo period Japan and expressing this value in koku of rice. This tribute was no longer a percentage of the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was assessed based on the quality and size of the land...
reached 540,000 koku and he was asked to add his followers, and accepted the previous samurais belonging to Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was the son of a wealthy Sakai merchant, Konishi Ryūsa...
and Tachibana. He started to strengthen the Kumamoto Castle
Kumamoto Castle
is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture. It was a large and extremely well fortified castle. The is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premier...
and completed it in 1607. Kiyomasa was one of the three senior commanders during the Seven-Year War (1592–1598) against the Korean dynasty of Joseon. Together with Konishi Yukinaga, he captured Seoul, Busan and many other crucial cities. He defeated the last Korean regulars in the Battle of Imjin River and pacified Hamgyong.
- Kumamoto and Korea: Some Koreans came to Kumamoto following Kiyomasa; a town named UlsanUlsanUlsan , officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh largest metropolis with a population of over 1.1 million. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring Busan to the south and facing Gyeongju to the north and the Sea of Japan to the east.Ulsan is the...
(Urusan) is in Kumamoto now. Kato shrine is a shrine in Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto, in which, Kato Kiyomasa, Ohki Kaneyoshi and Kin Kan, a Korean who followed Kato, are enshrined.
Kiyomasa was an excellent architect of castles and fortification. During the Imjin war, he built several Japanese style castles in Korea to better defend the conquered lands. Ulsan castle was one of these fortresses that Kiyomasa built, and it proved its worth when Korean-Chinese allied forces attacked it with far superior force, yet the outnumbered Japanese successfully defended the castle until the Japanese reinforcements arrived. After the meeting of Tokugawa Iemasa
Tokugawa Iemasa
Prince , 2nd Prince Tokugawa Japanese political figure of the Taishō and Shōwa period. Seventeenth head of the former Tokugawa shogunal house, he held a variety of government positions, including ambassador to Turkey...
and Toyotomi Hideyori
Toyotomi Hideyori
was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga....
, he died on a ship on his way to Kumamoto in 1611. His child, Katou Tadahiro, was transferred to Dewa Maruoka-han in Tohoku area in 1632, for fear of his becoming too powerful and Kato clan came to an end.
Hosokawa Clan
Hosokawa TadatoshiHosokawa Tadatoshi
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period, who ruled the Kumamoto Domain. He was a patron of the martial artist Miyamoto Musashi.Tadatoshi's grave is in Kumamoto. His Grandfather was Hosokawa Fujitaka-Gallery:...
of Hosokawa clan
Hosokawa clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa and a branch of the Minamoto clan, by the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate's administration. In the Edo period, the Hosokawa clan was one of the largest landholding daimyo families in Japan...
entered Higo Province in 1632; he declared that he respected Kato Kiyomasa
Kato Kiyomasa
was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...
. Retired Hosokawa Tadaoki
Hosokawa Tadaoki
was the eldest son of Hosokawa Fujitaka. He fought in his first battle at the age of 15. In that battle, he was in the service of Oda Nobunaga. He was given the Province of Tango in 1580. Soon after that, he married Hosokawa Gracia, the daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide. In 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide...
entered Yatsushiro castle. Hosokawa Tadatoshi introduced the system of tenaga, which was larger than a village; this system had been observed in his previous Han . The top of a tenaga was originally by heritage, but later the head of tenaga was appointed from above. It was by Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
but a more suitable system than heritage alone.
Catholic culture and Amakusa
Kato Kiyomasa
was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...
, an earnest Nichiren sect Buddhist, did not like Christians. He proposed that Amakusa and Tsurusaki, Oita Prefecture
Oita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni...
be exchanged when he obtained the land of Kumamoto, and this was realized. Gozoku
Gozoku
is a Japanese term used to refer to powerful and wealthy families. In historical context, it usually refers to local samurai clans with significant local land holdings. Some were almost locally independent, and held strong ties to important commoners such as wealthy merchants...
s in Amaksa repeatedly fought each other in the sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
. In 1560, they realized the superiority of arquebus
Arquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
which Matsuura Takanobu had introduced into local warfare.
In 1566, a gozoku asked Cosme de Torres
Cosme de Torrès
Cosme de Torres , a Spanish Jesuit of the sixteenth century, was one of the first Christian missionaries in Japan. He was born in Valencia and died in Amakusa, an island now in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.-Early Life :...
to send a Catholic missionary. Luís de Almeida was dispatched in the same year. He built a church with the permission of the rulers. In 1568, a congress of foreign missionaries was held in Amakusa. In 1570, missionaries baptized Shiki, Amakusa, and Amakusa ruling families. In Amakusa, 5 Ji-samurai
Ji-samurai
The ', also known as ', were lords of smaller rural domains in feudal Japan. They often used their relatively small plots of land for intensive and diversified forms of agriculture; the kokujin sought to be as productive and self-sufficient as possible, hoping to gain wealth and power...
s also became Christian.
As a result, Catholic culture flourished. Amakusa College (College Amacusa) graduated scholars between 1591 and 1597, at Hondo or Kawaura of Amakusa. It published more than 12 books including Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
in Japanese in 1593 and the Tale of the Heike
The Tale of the Heike
is an epic account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War...
(Feique No Monogatari), in 1592. with the Gutenberg press, imported from Italy by overseas scholars Ito Mansho (Mancio Ito
Mancio Ito
The Tenshō embassy was an embassy sent by the Japanese Christian Lord Ōtomo Sōrin to the Pope and the kings of Europe in 1582...
), Miguel Chijiwa
Miguel Chijiwa
was a member of Japanese delegate of Japan to European Christendom, Tenshō embassy. Later, he abandoned the faith. -References:...
, Hara Maruchino, and Nakaura Julian. Upon returning, they continued their studies at Amakusa College.
- The number of Christians in Amakusa was great, more than a half of inhabitants, 9,000–11,000 (1580) or 23,000 (1592) were documented. After the martyrdom of 26 saints at NagasakiNagasakiis the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
and the prohibition of Christianity, the printing machine was transferred to Nagasaki.
Shimabara Rebellion
The Shimabara RebellionShimabara Rebellion
The was an uprising largely involving Japanese peasants, most of them Catholic Christians, in 1637–1638 during the Edo period.It was one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule...
was an uprising largely involving Japanese peasants, most of them Catholic Christians, in 1637 and 1638. In the wake of the Matsukura clan's construction of a new castle at Shimabara, taxes were drastically raised, which provoked anger from local peasants and lordless samurais. In addition, religious persecution against the local Christians exacerbated their discontent, which turned into open revolt in 1637. The Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
sent a force of over 125,000 men and defeated them. The rebel leader Amakusa Shiro, a charismatic 15-year-old Christian, died when the castle fell. Executed in the aftermath of the fall, his head was displayed on a pike in Nagasaki for a very long time afterward as a warning to any other potential Christian rebels. Persecution of Christianity became strictly enforced. Japan's national seclusion policy was tightened, and formal persecution of Christianity continued until the 1850s. In 1641, Amakusa was made under the direct control of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Hidden Christians in Amakusa
Kakure Kirishitan
is a modern term for a member of the Japanese Catholic Church that went underground after the Shimabara Rebellion in the 1630s.-History:Kakure Kirishitans are called the "hidden" Christians because they continued to practice Christianity in secret. They worshipped in secret rooms in private homes...
were found in Amakusa
Amakusa
Amakusa is a series of islands belonging to Japan, off the west coast of Kyushu . The biggest of the Amakusa islands is Shimoshima Island, 26.5 miles long and 13.5 miles in extreme width...
. The Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
treated this problem unexpectedly softly and recognized religious conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
. Fumi-e had been used as a test for finding Christians.
Amakusa and Christianity in later years
People in Amakusa heard that the ban on Christianity had been lifted and some people reported that their faith was converted to Christianity in 1876. However, it was not accepted, and some others were punished because they conducted their funeral according to Christian style. In 1892, a French father, Frederic Louis Garnier,(1860–1941)started a church in Oe, Amakusa and he was mentioned in 5 Pairs of Shoes5 Pairs of Shoes
5 Pairs of Shoes was a series of essays of travel literature written by Yosano Tekkan, and following 4 students, named Mokutaro Kinoshita, Kitahara Hakushu, Hirano Banri and Yoshii Isamu published in 1907 in a Tokyo newspaper...
by Yosano Tekkan, Mokutaro Kinoshita, Kitahara Hakushu
Kitahara Hakushu
is the pen-name of ', a Japanese tanka poet active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan. He is regarded as one of the most popular and important poets in modern Japanese literature.-Early life:...
, Hirano Banri and Yoshii Isamu
Yoshii Isamu
was a Japanese tanka poet and playwright writer active in Taishō and Shōwa period Japan. Attracted to European romanticism in his youth, his later works were more subdued.-Early life:Yoshii Isamu was born in the elite Takanawa district Tokyo...
.
Infrastructure of Kumamoto in the Edo era
The town area of Kumamoto had been completed at the time of Kato KiyomasaKato Kiyomasa
was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...
. Tsuboi Kawa (river) had been separated from Shirakawa. Tsuboi Kawa and Iseri Kawa were made a moat of Kumamoto Castle
Kumamoto Castle
is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture. It was a large and extremely well fortified castle. The is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premier...
. Dwelling areas of Samurais were placed around Kumamoto Castle, and the areas of town people were separated. Choroku Bashi(Bridge) was the only bridge crossing Shirakawa River, it was only one for the defense of Kumamoto Castle. Suizenji Park, a Japanese style garden, was made for the exclusive use of the Hosokawa clan
Hosokawa clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa and a branch of the Minamoto clan, by the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate's administration. In the Edo period, the Hosokawa clan was one of the largest landholding daimyo families in Japan...
in 1634. A factory for wax production was completed in 1803; the products were transported over the rivers to the sea.
- Temples had been burnt in the Sengoku periodSengoku periodThe or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
, or the period of wars, especially those in the Mount AsoMount Asois the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world...
area but some were reconstructed. In those areas, hot spring sites were constructed between 1804 and 1829 in Kurokawa, and Yamaga became also a hot spring site. Sake production was started. - Uto castle was once destroyed, but it was rebuilt and there was water supply service, which works even today. Although Higo (Kumamoto and Yatsushiro) is one country, Yatsushiro Castle was made a single exception to the rule of one castle in one country; because there was need to defend Kumamoto against powerful Satsuma HanSatsuma hanThe Satsuma domain was one of the most powerful feudal domains in Tokugawa Japan, and played a major role in the Meiji Restoration and in the government of the Meiji period which followed...
and to defend Japan from foreign countries. - Kato KiyomasaKato Kiyomasawas a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...
and Hosokawa clanHosokawa clanThe ' was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa and a branch of the Minamoto clan, by the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate's administration. In the Edo period, the Hosokawa clan was one of the largest landholding daimyo families in Japan...
continued to increase the productivity of Kumamoto han by various means, such as the control of rivers and land reclamation by drainage on the sea. One example was the construction of Tsūjun BridgeTsujun BridgeTsūjun Bridge is an aqueduct in Yamato, Kumamoto, Japan. It is an arch bridge completed in 1854 and is 84.0m long. The arch spans 27.3m...
which made barren land fertile land.
- Hitoyoshi enjoyed the existence of a separated han, and there was a special taxation system; various items were available for taxation products in addition to rice, and they were transported via the Kuma River.
- In Amakusa, Suzuki Shigenari was the head of Tokugawa ShogunateTokugawa shogunateThe Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
governed Amakusa, and he repeatedly asked the Tokugawa ShogunateTokugawa shogunateThe Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
for the reduction of KokudakaKokudakarefers to a system for determining land value for tribute purposes in Edo period Japan and expressing this value in koku of rice. This tribute was no longer a percentage of the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was assessed based on the quality and size of the land...
, from 42,000 koku to 21,000 koku. He committed SeppukuSeppukuis a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
to achieve this reduction successfully, though there was a view that he died through disease.
Hosokawa Shigekata and the reform of Horeki
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
which requested the Sankin kotai
Sankin kotai
was a policy of the shogunate during most of the Edo period of Japanese history. The purpose was to control the daimyo. In adopting the policy, the shogunate was continuing and refining similar policies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1635, a law required sankin kōtai, which was already an established...
.
The reform of Horeki
In 1752, he appointed Hori Katuna the great BugyoBugyo
', often translated as "commissioner" or "magistrate" or "governor," was a title assigned to government officers in pre-modern Japan; other terms would be added to the title to describe more specifically a given commissioner's tasks or jurisdiction....
. Hori immediately went to Osaka to negotiate with Kohnoike family and others for loan, but the Osaka rich families refused the request of Kumamoto han. Then, Hori was successful in borrowing a huge sum of money from Kajimaya in return for the 100,000 koku or rice of Kumamoto Han. Kajimaya requested considerable reduced financial policy of Kumamoto han. Originally, 100 koku of samurais meant 40 koku of rice, or the samurai obtained 40 %. After the reform, 20 koku per 100 koku went to a samurai, and then 13 koku, this meant a reduction of 65 %. Kokudaka
Kokudaka
refers to a system for determining land value for tribute purposes in Edo period Japan and expressing this value in koku of rice. This tribute was no longer a percentage of the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was assessed based on the quality and size of the land...
or the system of koku refers to a system for determining land value for tribute purposes in Edo period Japan and expressing this value in koku of rice. This tribute was no longer the percentage of the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was assessed based on the quality and size of the land. The system was used to value the incomes of daimyo, or samurais under daimyo.
Jishuukan, Saishunkan and criminal law reform
Kumamoto han wanted that samurais were satisfied with the reform of Horeki, and at the same time, they should train themselves as strong samurais. One was to build a school of han for samurais and others. Another idea was to rehabilitate those who were against the rules, and Shigekata started completely new criminal laws of the han. He also started a medical school called Saishunkan. In addition, Shigekata and Hori started various new industries such as Japanese paper, silk, and wax.Famine, starvation and tsunami
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, usually accomanied or followed by malnutrition, starvationStarvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
, epidemic and increased mortality. In 1634 ,there was a considerable famine which was said to lead to Shimabara Rebellion
Shimabara Rebellion
The was an uprising largely involving Japanese peasants, most of them Catholic Christians, in 1637–1638 during the Edo period.It was one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule...
of 1637. The reduced production of rice was observed occasionally from time to time; 1729 was also the year of famine, and it was recorded that only there was only 11% of yearly production. In addition to famine, there was a peculiar tsunami. In 1792, a large mountain Mayu Yama(Maeyama), at the foot of Volcano Unzen, Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...
collapsed with volcanic earthquakes, producing a great tsunami, attacking the seashore of Kumamoto Prefecture. In all, 15,000 people died. This was the second largest tsunami, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
..
Farmer uprising
Usually translated as peasant uprising, it was reported that wealthy farmers also participated; in Higo Province, more than 100 cases of farmer uprising were recorded. These cases were characterized by small numbers of participants, less than 300 people, and their claims were the reduction of taxation, about the unstability of han money, request for the resignation of the shoya and employees. In 1747, farmer uprising occurred in Ashikita, requesting the withdrawal of the resignation of Inatsu Yaemon, a high-ranking gundai who had an understanding of farmers. Its participants numbered 7000 to 8000 people.Bakumatsu and Yokoi Shonan
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
. Yokoi Shōnan (1809–1869) was a scholar and political reformer in Japan, influential around the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
. Yokoi was a samurai born in Kumamoto, was sent by the domain to Edo in 1839 for studies, and developed contacts with pro-reform members of the Mito domain. After his return to Kumamoto, he started a group to promote the reform of domain administration along Neo-Confucianism lines. In 1857, he was invited by the daimyo of Echizen, Matsudaira Yoshinaga
Matsudaira Yoshinaga
, also known as Matsudaira Keiei, was the 14th head of Fukui Domain during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and politician of the Meiji era. "Yoshinaga" is his imina and "Shungaku" is his gō...
to become his political advisor. Although he was highly evaluated at that time, he was assassinated in 1869.
Meiji restoration, abolition of the han system and Satsuma Rebellion
There was a chain of events from the Bakumatsu, Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
(1868), Abolition of the han system
Abolition of the han system
The was an act, in 1871, of the new Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to replace the traditional feudal domain system and to introduce centralized government authority . This process marked the culmination of the Meiji Restoration in that all daimyo were required to return their authority...
(1871) and Satsuma Rebellion
Satsuma Rebellion
The was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...
(1877). The name of the Prefecture was finally made Kumamoto Prefecture in 1876.
- The Sword Abolishment Edict and the abolishment of the SamuraiSamuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
system were issued in 1876, and Samurais were angered and became furious. Saigo TakamoriSaigo Takamoriwas one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He has been dubbed the last true samurai.-Early life:...
, the hero and leader of Meiji Restoration left the central Meiji Government and returned to Kagoshima, with dissatisfied samurais. In 1877, Satsuma RebellionSatsuma RebellionThe was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...
army went up to Kumamoto, but lost 2 months of Siege of Kumamoto CastleSiege of Kumamoto castle-External links:*...
war proving the unrivaled durability of the castle and Saigo Takamori committed seppukuSeppukuis a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
at his native place Kagoshima. Shortly before their attack on Kumamoto CastleKumamoto Castleis a hilltop Japanese castle located in Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture. It was a large and extremely well fortified castle. The is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premier...
, the towns of Kumamoto were burned in preparation for the battle, and Kumamoto Castle was also burned down, while the cause of the fire of the castle remained unknown. The commander of Kumamoto Castle was Tani TatekiTani Tateki-External links:...
who was fresh from Taiwan Expedition of 1874Taiwan Expedition of 1874The , usually referred to in Taiwan and mainland China as the Mudan incident , was a punitive expedition launched by the Japanese in retaliation for the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines near the southwestern tip of Taiwan in December 1871...
.
Satsuma Rebellion and the Japan Red Cross Movement
- In 1877, Sano TsunetamiSano TsunetamiCount was a Japanese statesman and founder of the Japanese Red Cross Society. His son, Admiral Sano Tsuneha, was a leading figure in the establishment of the Scout Association of Japan.-Biography:...
(1823–1902) created the Hakuaisha, a relief organization to provide medical assistance to soldiers wounded in the Satsuma Rebellion. This organization became the Japanese Red Cross Society in 1887, with Sano as its first president. - Souha HatonoSouha HatonoSouha Hatono VIII of Japan was a Japanese physician. He treated wounded soldiers of the both sides equally in the Satsuma rebellion which was fought between Satsuma and the new Imperial Government. He faced a trial for trying to benefit the enemy, but was proved innocent...
VIII of Kumamoto (the 8th) (1844–1917) was a Japanese physician. He treated wounded soldiers of the both sides equally in the Satsuma rebellionSatsuma RebellionThe was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...
. He faced a trial for trying to benefit the enemy, but was proved innocent. His activities were in accord with the spirit of International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Imperial Army
Chinzei Tandai, one of the 6 large units of the Japanese Army, was placed in Kumamoto in 1871. After the Satsuma rebellionSatsuma Rebellion
The was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...
in 1877, the 6th Infantry Division was formed in Kumamoto City on May 12, 1888, as one of the new divisions to be created after the reorganization of the Imperial Japanese Army away from six regional commands and into a divisional command structure. The headquarters were placed in the Kumamoto Castle
Kumamoto Castle
is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture. It was a large and extremely well fortified castle. The is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premier...
, with the infantry battalion, the cavalry battalion and artillery battalion, and this nature came to an end at the end of World WarⅡ. Japan experienced the First Sino-Japanese War
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...
in 1895 and 1896. After the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, Kumamoto accepted about 5,000 prisoners of war at Toroku. A large-scale military exercise
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
was held in Kumamoto with Emperor Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
in 1931.
To Prosperous Kumamoto
Yamasaki Training Place of the army, placed after the Satsuma rebellionSatsuma Rebellion
The was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...
, blocked traffic and the development of Kumamoto City. In consideration of public opinions, other military buildings were transferred to Toroku and Oe Mura, but the Yamasaki Training place was still there. At the cost of Kumamoto City, it moved to Oe Mura, starting as late as 1898. In the wake of the Yamasaki Training place, Renpei Cho and Karashima(the name of the then mayor) Cho were named, and Shinshigai became the busiest section of Kumamoto City. In 1907, Kumamoto Light railway
Light railway
Light railway refers to a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail". This usually means the railway uses lighter weight track, and is more steeply graded and tightly curved to avoid civil engineering costs...
company started, which later changed to Kumamoto Electoric Railway Company and then to streetcars. Public organizations were invited, such as the 5th Higher Middle School in 1887 which changed to the 5th High School in 1894, Tobacco Monopoly Bureau in 1911. Infrastructure such as construction of roads, water supply(1924), streetcars was completed, which was the basis of development of Kumamoto City.
Air raids, floods and a fire
At the end of World War II. Kumamto experienced several Air raids on JapanAir raids on Japan
During World War II the Allied forces conducted many air raids on Japan which caused extensive destruction to the country's cities and killed over 300,000 people. These attacks began with the Doolittle Raid in mid-April 1942, but did not resume until June 1944 when United States Army Air Forces ...
, and the greatest one on June 30 and July 1, 1945. About one third of the city was burned, and more than 300 people died. After the war, there were a considerable number of floods after typhoons attacking Japan, possibly due to deforestation and delay in river control. In June 1953, there was a combination of Mount Aso
Mount Aso
is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world...
eruption and 1953 North Kyushu Flood
1953 North Kyushu Flood
The 1953 North Kyushu Flood was the flood which hit the Northern Kyushu, Japan Fukuoka Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture and Ooita Prefecture in June 1953...
, causing debris flows into the center of Kumamoto city, and more than 500 people died in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Various dams, such as Ichifusa dam, Midorikawa dam, Ryumon dam, have been constructed to prevent another disaster. Tateno dam is under construction. 1973 Taiyo Department Store fire
1973 Taiyo Department Store fire
The Taiyo Department Store fire was a fire at the Taiyo Department Store, a department store in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The fire started at 1:15 p.m. on November 29, 1973; 103 people died...
occurred in the center of Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. The fire started at 1:15 pm on November 29, 1973; killing 103 people. After the fire, regulations pertaining to the construction of buildings were strengthened, one of which was the building of external steps outside of the high-storied buildings.
Industries in Kumamoto Prefecture
Since early times agriculture has remained an important industry and the government encouraged agriculture by placing agricultural experiment stations in 1911 in Kumamoto Prefecture. Since 1964, industrialization started, such as motorcycles and semiconductors. Kumamoto Technopolis Project was started to invite various factories near Kumamoto Airport. Five Bridges of AmakusaFive Bridges of Amakusa
are five road bridges at the south tip of Japan, linking the Kyushu mainland and the Amakusa Islands. The bridges connect to the islands of Ooyano-jima, Nagaura-jima, Ike-jima, and Maeshima, and were completed on September 24, 1966...
linked the Kyūshū Mainland, Kumamoto Prefecture and Amakusa Islands, on September 24, 1966. The Five Bridges not only gave hope and confidence in the development of Japan's bridge construction technology, but also changed the whole aspects of lives in Amakusa
Amakusa
Amakusa is a series of islands belonging to Japan, off the west coast of Kyushu . The biggest of the Amakusa islands is Shimoshima Island, 26.5 miles long and 13.5 miles in extreme width...
Islands including industries. Mount Aso
Mount Aso
is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world...
(National Park in 1931) and Amakusa became attractions of sightseeing of Kumamoto Prefecture.
Minamata disease
Foreigners who worked in Kumamoto Prefecture
- Hannah RiddellHannah RiddellHannah Riddell was an English woman who devoted her life to the salvation of Hansen's disease patients in Japan.-Early life and her determination:...
: (1855–1932) Englishwoman who established Kumamoto's first leprosy hospital Kaishun Hospital in 1895. - Ada Hannah Wright: (1870–1950) Englishwoman, the director(1932–1941) of Kaishun Hospital.
- Lafcadio HearnLafcadio HearnPatrick Lafcadio Hearn , known also by the Japanese name , was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things...
: also known as Koizumi Yakumo, (1850–1904), was an international writer, best known for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: A man of letters who worked at Kumamoto University. - Father Jean Marie Corre: French father who established a leprosy hospital Tairoin HospitalTairoin HospitalTairoin Hospital is a hospital for leprosy patients initiated by Jean Marie Corre in Shimasaki Machi Kumamoto shi, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, in 1898, initially hospitalizing patients who gathered around Honmyoji Temple. He was a member of M.E.P. or "Missions Etrangères de Paris"...
in 1898.- Marie Colombe de Jesuis, Marie Beata de Immaculee Conception, Marie de la Purete, Marie Annick and Marie Trifine were sisters who volunteered to work at Tairoin Hospital.
- Leroy Lansing JanesLeroy Lansing JanesLeroy Lansing Janes was an American educator, hired by Kumamoto Domain in early Meiji period Japan.A native of Ohio, Janes was a veteran of the Civil War, where he served in the artillery with the rank of captain after graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point...
(1837–1909) was an American army officer. After leaving the army, he taught Japanese pupils who did not know English at Yoh Gakkou(English School), Kumamoto, without interpreter. His subjects included English, English writing, literature, mathematics, physics, chemistry and history. In 1876, he taught Christianity to 30 pupils, and his school was abolished. After returning to America, he came to Japan and taught English at Kyoto and Kagoshima. - Constant George van Mansvelt (1832–1912) was a Dutch physician who taught medicine at Nagasaki in 1866 and in Kumamoto (Kojo Medical School) for 3 years between 1871 and 1973. One of the students at Kumamoto was Kitasato ShibasaburoKitasato ShibasaburōBaron was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist. He is remembered as the co-discoverer of the infectious agent of bubonic plague in Hong Kong in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin.-Biography:...
. In 1876, he taught medicine in Kyoto Prefectural Hospital. In 1877, he moved to Osaka Hospital and in 1879, he returned to Leeuwarden. He died in 1912 at age 80. He lectured every subject of medicine.