Akizuki

This area is located in the northern part of Asakura City, in central Fukuoka Prefecture. It is located at the foot of Mount Kosho, famous for its virgin boxwood forest, and was the castle town of 17 generations of the Akizuki clan since the Middle Ages, but the castle was abandoned after Toyotomi Hideyoshi transferred the domain to Takanabe in Hyuga. In 1623 (Genwa 9), Kuroda Nagamasa's third son, Kuroda Nagaoki, was given 50,000 koku of land as a branch domain of the Fukuoka domain, and the area flourished as a castle town until the end of the Edo period. The domain lord's attention to education produced many talented people. In 1876 (Meiji 9), former Akizuki domain samurai Miyazaki Shanosuke and other Kyushu samurai gathered together and started the Akizuki Rebellion. Today, the castle gate, moat, stone walls, and other structures from the domain era remain, as well as the Akizuki Local Museum. The castle ruins have been turned into a school, and the samurai residences have been turned into pear fields, but traces of the castle town still remain in the streetscape, making it a tourist destination. In 1998, the area was designated as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings by the national government.

[Masaaki Ishiguro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

福岡県中部、朝倉市(あさくらし)北部の一地区。ツゲの原生林で有名な古処山(こしょさん)の麓(ふもと)にあり、中世以来秋月氏17代の城下町であったが、豊臣秀吉(とよとみひでよし)による日向(ひゅうが)高鍋(たかなべ)への移封ののち、城も廃された。1623年（元和9）黒田長政の三男黒田長興(ながおき)が5万石で福岡藩の支藩として分封され幕末まで城下町として栄え、藩主の文教留意で多くの人材を出した。1876年（明治9）旧秋月藩士宮崎車之助(しゃのすけ)ら九州の士族が集まり、秋月の乱を起こした。現在、藩政時代の城門、堀、石垣などが残り、秋月郷土館もある。城跡は学校に、士族屋敷はナシ畑などに変わったが、城下町の名残(なごり)を町並みなどに残し観光地になっている。1998年（平成10）国の重要伝統的建造物群保存地区に選定された。

［石黒正紀］

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