Hitoyoshi Kuma, protecting and continuing the history and culture from 700 years of Sagara

“Japan Heritage” is a project of the Agency for Cultural Affairs that was started in 2015. Kumamoto Prefecture’s Hitoyoshi Kuma area was recognized as the first of these along with 17 districts nationwide. The Japan Heritage of Hitoyoshi Kuma consists of 57 cultural assets, which have been linked in a general storyline titled “A culture of conservation and progression born from 700 years of the Sagara clan.”

“Sagara” is the family that was dispatched to this area by order of the Kamakura shogunate and governed it for a period of 700 years, until the Meiji Restoration. Even on a national level, there are few cases in which a single family continued to govern the same area for such a long time during a period of turmoil, in which, not only was there war with other territories, but also things like famine and uprisings associated with the famine.

The Sagara clan preserved the culture of the Hitoyoshi Kuma region, which had existed since the distant past, and also introduced the latest culture and art found in metropolises such as Kyoto and Nara. The culture and customs that came about from this long reign continue to be handed down to those living in the Hitoyoshi Kuma region today, integrated into the everyday scenery.

The 57 cultural assets that have been recognized by Japan Heritage include Kuma Shochu and Kuma Kagura, as well as the Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and statues of Buddha that have sustained the hearts of the people since time long ago.

Historical novelist Ryōtarō Shiba wrote about the Hitoyoshi Kuma region in his book “Kaidō wo Yuku (On the Highways),” saying that it is “the village with the greatest wealth of hidden treasures in Japan.” The 700 year history of the Sagara family, in which the progressions of outside culture continued to be absorbed while still protecting the region’s culture, which had been loved and protected since long before, is engraved in the words “the village with the greatest wealth of hidden treasures – Hitoyoshi Kuma.”

Japan Heritage Hitoyoshi Kuma Cultural Asset Composite

Aoi Aso Shrine

, , /作成者: toyoshima

Amamiya Shrine

, /作成者: toyoshima

Arata Kannon Temple (Wooden seated statue of the historical Buddha)

, /作成者: toyoshima

Arata Daiō Shrine

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Izawa Kumanoza Shrine

, /作成者: toyoshima

Ichifusayama Shrine Main Shrine

, /作成者: toyoshima

Ichifusayama Shrine Lower Shrine (Satomiya Shrine)

, /作成者: toyoshima

Ichifusayama Shrine Middle Shrine (Ichinomiya Shrine)

, /作成者: toyoshima

Inokuchi Hachiman Shrine

, /作成者: toyoshima

Iwaya Kumanoza Shrine

, /作成者: toyoshima

Iwan Castle Ruins

, /作成者: toyoshima

Sites Related to the Uemura Sagara Clan

, /作成者: toyoshima

Usudaiko Dance

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Unsun Karuta

/作成者: toyoshima

Oigami Shrine

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Ōgū Shrine

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Ōta Family Residence

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Okadome Kumanoza Shrine

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Okunchi Festival

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O-Daishi Temple

, /作成者: toyoshima

O-Take-san Mairi (Visit to the Peak)

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Ganjōji Temple and the Sagara Family Cemetery

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Kuma Kagura

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Kuma River

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Kuma Ken

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Kuma Shochu

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The Kōshin Faith and Kōshin Stone Monuments

, /作成者: toyoshima

Kumeharuyori Shrine

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Kōnose Sumiyoshi Shrine

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Konomoto Jingū Shrine

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Sagara 33 Statues of Kannon Pilgrimage

, /作成者: toyoshima

Ancient Road Related to the Sagara Clan

, /作成者: toyoshima

24. Shōzenin Kannon Temple

, /作成者: toyoshima

Jōsenji/Hasshōji Amida Temples

, /作成者: toyoshima

Shōchū Graves

, /作成者: toyoshima

Cultural Assets Related to Shōfukuji Temple

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Shōrenji Amida Temple

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Shiraga Shrine

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Statue of the Eleven-Faced Kannon at Shiroyama Kannon Temple

, /作成者: toyoshima

Sue Aso Shaka Temple

, /作成者: toyoshima

Taisha-ryu Fencing

, /作成者: toyoshima

Daishinji Temple

, /作成者: toyoshima

Takaterain Temple

, /作成者: toyoshima

Tanimizu Yakushi Temple

, /作成者: toyoshima

Historical Sites of the Taragi Sagara Clan

, /作成者: toyoshima

Statue of Kōbō Daishi at Kutsukigi Taishi Temple

, /作成者: toyoshima

Toshima Sugawara Shrine

, /作成者: toyoshima

Nagatome Sagara Clan Fortress Group

, /作成者: toyoshima

Higashimata/Nishimata Aso Shrine

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Hitoyoshi Hot Springs

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Hitoyoshi Kuma Folk Songs

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Hitoyoshi Castle Ruins

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Hitoyoshi Domain Fife and Drum Corps

, /作成者: toyoshima

Hyakutarō Aqueduct and Kōno Aqueduct

, /作成者: toyoshima

Fukada Daiō Shrine (Fukada Aso Shrine)

, /作成者: toyoshima

Yamada Daiō Shrine

, /作成者: toyoshima

Yamanoue Hachiman Shrine

, /作成者: toyoshima
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