Route
1Tanjo-in
The birthplace of Kakuban (Kogyo-Daishi) who founded the "Shingi Shingon" Buddhist sect, it is counted as one of the "88 Sacred Sites of Kyushu"
and one of the "36 Fudo Sacred Sites of Kyushu."
2Rengon-in
A temple of the Omuro school of the Shingon Buddhist sect, built in the late 9th century. It was destroyed once as a result of a fire that broke out in a war, but two images of Amida-nyorai and 1 image of Yakushi-nyorai were preserved.
These images are Important Cultural Properties of Japan because they are "Jocho-style" images that are exceptionally rare.
3Yutoku Inari-jinja Shrine
In 1687 the domain lord of Hizen-Kashima, Nabeshima Naotomo, married a woman named Princess Kazan-in Manko. As a result of this, a division of Inari, the tutelary deity of the Imperial Palace, was transferred to this shrine.
As a result it became one of the 3 biggest Inari Shrines in Japan, alongside Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto and Kasama Inari Shrine in Ibaraki. The entire building is lacquered in brilliant colors, such that the spectacle of the shrine is sometimes called the "Chinzei Nikko" meaning "Nikko of the Kyushu region." In the outer garden there is a poem monument to Mokichi Saito, and the shrine receives hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
4Fumyoji Temple
Based on Manpuku-ji Temple in Kyoto, this temple was built in 1677 to serve as the family temple of the Kashima Nabeshima family.
The Kashima clan had deep ties to the Obaku school of Zen Buddhism, so Fumyo-ji Temple is an Obaku temple that is rich with Chinese culture. The entire facility is laid out in the shape of a dragon; there is a pond representing the dragon's 'eye' inside its head, and a small pathway leading to the Nabeshima cemetery is the tail. From the two-storied gate a corridor stretches out to the left and right, surrounding the front garden of the main temple-- this is a characteristic feature of Obaku style.
5Hizen Hamashuku
Formerly a traditional country town built in the mouth of the Hamagawa River, today you can see the remnants of the townscape. This town prospered as a post town of the Tara Kaido (Tara Highway), which was a side road of the Nagasaki Kaido highway.
In 2006 it was designated as a Preservation District for Group of Traditional Buildings as "Hamanakamachi-hachihongishuku" and "Hamashozu-machi Hamakanaya-machi."