Kunisaki Peninsula

Located in the northeastern part of Oita Prefecture, this nearly circular volcanic peninsula has a radius of just over 30 kilometers. It has been dissected, and its highest point, Mt. Futago, is only 721 meters high. The beautifully developed floodplains at the bottom of the radiating valleys are the main habitat for the 100,000 residents of the peninsula, who grow rice, shichitoi rush, and tobacco. In recent years, mandarin orange orchards have been developed on the slopes and terraces of the radiating mountain ridges. Shiitake mushrooms are also produced in abundance. New Oita Airport was opened on the southeastern coast of the peninsula in 1971, and the "Kunisaki area in the north of the prefecture," centered around this airport, was designated a technopolis region in 1984. National Route 213 runs through many tunnels along the radiating mountain ridges, along the sunken coast forming a petal-shaped cove in the north, and along the raised coast of terraces and beach ridges in the southeast, and the castle towns of Bungotakada and Kitsuki developed in Mondo. The circular peninsula, with a high center, was divided into East Kunisaki and West Kunisaki counties in 1889 (Meiji 22), and today the eastern half is made up of Kunisaki City, the northern western half is Bungotakada City, and the southern half is Kitsuki City.

In ancient times, the peninsula belonged to the Kunisaki district of Bungo Province and was divided into six districts: Kunawa, Tashibu, Imi, Kunisaki, Musashi, and Aki. As Usa Hachiman developed, most of the peninsula became the property of Usa Hachiman and its shrine temple, Mirokuji, and many branch shrines and temples were built throughout the peninsula. These large temple groups are called Rokugo Manzan. Many remains of the late Heian period include the Fukiji Temple Great Hall (a national treasure; the inner sanctuary contains a mural designated as a cultural property), the nine Buddhist statues at Maki Odo, and the three gods at Nata Hachimangu Shrine, as well as elegant stone Kunisaki Towers and stone monuments from the Kamakura and Momoyama periods. There are also many folk events, such as the Shusho Onie festival at Iwato-ji Temple and other temples, the Otaue festival at Morotayama Shrine, and the Yoshihirogaku festival in Musashi-cho, Kunisaki City. One of the main reasons why the peninsula is such a treasure trove of national treasures and important cultural properties is that the mountain range that is thought to form the base of the neck of the peninsula is quite steep, with one peak called Nokogiriyama (543 meters), and is highly obstructive to traffic, making the peninsula an isolated island.

[Shunichi Kaneko]

"Kunisaki" edited by Wakamori Taro (1960, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Kunisaki Culture and Stone Buddhas" by Otake Junko (1970, Mokujisha)" ▽ "Rokugo Manzan of the Kunisaki Peninsula" by Sakai Tomizo (1976, Daiichi Hoki Publishing)" ▽ "History and Folklore of the Kunisaki Peninsula" by Umehara Haruo (1974, Saeki Printing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大分県の北東部にある半径30キロメートル余のほぼ円形の火山半島。開析が進み、最高地点の両子山(ふたご)も721メートルにすぎず、みごとに発達した放射谷底の氾濫原(はんらんげん)は10万半島住民の主要生活舞台となり、米、七島藺(しちとうい)、タバコ作が行われている。放射山稜(さんりょう)斜面や段丘面などでは近年ミカン園の開発が進んでいる。シイタケの産も多い。半島南東海岸に1971年（昭和46）新大分空港が開設され、これを中心とする「県北国東」地域が1984年テクノポリス地域に指定された。北部の花びら形入り江をなす沈降海岸や、南東部の段丘、浜堤などの隆起海岸沿いに、国道213号が放射山稜を多くのトンネルで抜けて走り、門戸に豊後高田(ぶんごたかだ)、杵築(きつき)の両城下町が発達した。中央部が高い円形半島は、1889年（明治22）に東国東、西国東両郡に分かたれ、今日、東半は国東市、西半の北部が豊後高田市、同南部が杵築市の3市を構成している。

　古代の半島は豊後国国埼(くにさき)郡に属し、来縄(くなわ)、田染(たしぶ)、伊美(いみ)、国前(くにさき)、武蔵(むさし)、安岐(あき)の6郷に分かれていた。宇佐八幡(はちまん)の発展に伴って、半島の大部分は宇佐八幡とその神宮寺の弥勒寺(みろくじ)の所領となり、半島各地に末社、末寺が多数建立された。これらの大寺院集団を六郷満山(ろくごうまんざん)と称している。平安後期の富貴寺大堂(ふきじおおどう)（国宝。内陣には文化財に指定された壁画がある）、真木大堂(まきおおどう)の仏像9躯(く)、奈多八幡宮(なたはちまんぐう)の三神像をはじめとして、鎌倉時代や桃山時代の優雅な石造宝塔の国東塔や板碑(いたび)の残存も多い。岩戸寺(いわとうじ／いわとじ)ほかの修正鬼会(しゅしょうおにえ)や、諸田山(もろたやま)神社の御田植(おたうえ)祭、国東市武蔵町の吉弘楽(よしひろがく)などの民俗行事も多い。半島がこのように国宝、重要文化財の宝庫であるのは、頸部(けいぶ)の地塁と考えられている山地が、鋸山(のこぎりやま)（543メートル）の名をもつ一峰もあるとおり、かなり険しく、交通遮断性は大で、半島を陸の孤島たらしめてきたのが大きな一因であろう。

［兼子俊一］

『和歌森太郎編『くにさき』（1960・吉川弘文館）』▽『大嶽順公著『国東文化と石仏』（1970・木耳社）』▽『酒井富蔵著『国東半島の六郷満山』（1976・第一法規出版）』▽『梅原治夫著『国東半島の歴史と民俗』（1974・佐伯印刷）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例