We invite you to explore the town of Yanagawa and connect more deeply with its people. The dedicated staff of the Yanagawa Travel Association bring you the latest updates and stories from the heart of the city.
Yanagawa is known as a town of waterways, and its beautiful nature and rich history and culture attract many people.
What has shaped this charming town is, above all else, the passion of the people. The passion of the people to treasure the traditions passed down from generation to generation and to pass them on to the future has shaped Yanagawa into what it is today.
Beautiful scenery and life created by canals
Yanagawa is characterised by the canals that run throughout the town. The canals are engraved with history that is deeply connected to the lives of the people, and a leisurely boat ride down the river is a staple of Yanagawa tourism. The cleaning and maintenance of the canals is carried out by local residents, and efforts are ongoing to maintain the beautiful scenery.
Kitahara Hakushu: A poetic spirit nurtured in Yanagawa
Kitahara Hakushu was born and raised in Yanagawa, where he developed his poetic sense through his interactions with the city's rich nature and people.
His poems include many descriptions of the canals, waterways, and scenery of Yanagawa, and you can sense his deep love for his hometown.
One of his representative works, "Omoide," is a nostalgic tribute to his hometown of Yanagawa and his bankrupt family home, and it made Hakushu's name known to the world.
The collection of poems titled "Water Composition" symbolically depicts the waterside scenery of Yanagawa. Hakushu describes the water of Yanagawa as "the mother of poetry" and emphasizes its importance.
By experiencing the world of Hakushu's poetry, you will be able to deepen your understanding of Yanagawa and find it even more fascinating.
Birthplace and memorial hall here
Feel the warm hospitality of the people at the festival
Yanagawa holds a variety of traditional events throughout the year. One of the best examples is the Hakushu Festival, a fantastic water parade held in memory of poet Kitahara Hakushu through the waterside town of Yanagawa. This festival brings together the efforts of local people, and the lively atmosphere of the entire region is impressive. In addition to the Hakushu Festival, Yanagawa has a variety of other fascinating festivals.
Spring Scenes:
Sagemon Meguri: This festival is one of the three major hanging doll festivals in Japan. They are displayed all over the town and herald the arrival of spring.
Nakayama Wisteria Festival: The ancient wisteria flowers bloom in full glory, attracting many visitors.
Okinohata Suitengu Festival: A traditional festival in which participants travel around the shrine on a boat.
Summer traditions:
Nakajima Gion Festival: The fire-breathing giant snake float is fun for both children and adults.
Autumn Scenery:
Mitsuhashira Shrine Autumn Festival (Onigie): This festival is characterized by its lively atmosphere, with lively music and floats parading through the town.
Hakushu Festival: At the Water Parade, you can enjoy the hospitality of Yanagawa citizens of all ages and genders along the route.
Winter Scenery:
Hakushu's Birthday Celebration: A parade of large handcarts carrying Hakushu's portrait and sake barrels will take place from his birthplace to the Poetry Monument.
These festivals are not just events, but important cultural traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation by local people.
Through festivals, people cooperate with each other and deepen ties throughout the community.
A traditional light that connects to the future
The passion of the people of Yanagawa is not just to protect the things of the past, but also to connect them to the future: passing on traditional festivals to future generations, preserving the beauty of the canals, and conveying the charm of Yanagawa to new generations.
Come and visit Yanagawa, a unique sustainable town that has existed since the Edo period.(→Feature on Sustainable Town Yanagawa)
A local concierge will guide you to make your experience in Yanagawa more meaningful.
Yanagawa was once located in the Ariake Sea, and was built over a long period of time by our ancestors.The Ariake Sea has the largest daily tidal range in Japan.
On its highest days, the tides reach up to 6 meters, and the agricultural and marine products nurtured by its breath add color to the lives of the people of Yanagawa and have fostered a deeply rooted food culture.
Steamed eel
The breeze blowing through the city of Yanagawa gently carries the sweet aroma of savory eel.
Steamed eel is one of Yanagawa's traditional local dishes that has been around since the Edo period.It is cooked in a "seiro," a type of steamer, and the charcoal-grilled eel is steamed together with rice soaked in sauce, allowing you to enjoy the flavorful, moist texture while it's still hot.
Yanagawa Nori Seaweed
The tidal range of the Ariake Sea is 6 meters, which allows it to produce high-quality seaweed that is rich in nutrients. It melts smoothly in your mouth and the more you chew it, the more delicious the flavor spreads. Its characteristic glossy, deep black color makes it even more delicious when used in cooking. Tasting nori grown here is also a way to experience the nature and history of Yanagawa, a city that has long coexisted with the Ariake Sea.
Fish caught in the Ariake Sea
The Ariake Sea is known as a "treasure trove of rare fish." The tidal range is particularly large in Japan, and the sea is rich in nutrients, so it is home to a diverse range of creatures not found anywhere else. These rare fish are loved by local fishermen and have become part of the food culture.
Mudskippers are unique fish that live in tidal flats and are characterized by their blue-green body and jumping movements. Locals call them the "tidal flats dancers" and they are enjoyed grilled with salt, deep-fried, or simmered. The plump flesh and unique flavor spreads in your mouth, making them a popular delicacy.
Rice, vegetables, and fruits
Yanagawa is known as a water town, but it is also known as one of Kyushu's leading grain-producing areas. Grains such as rice, wheat, and soybeans have been cultivated since ancient times, and in recent years, vegetables such as eggplant, lettuce, strawberries, and asparagus, as well as fruit cultivation such as grapes and figs, have also become popular. Agricultural products grown in fertile soil rich in minerals add color to local dining tables and support the rich food culture unique to Yanagawa.
The Tachibana family and Yoshimasa Tanaka are indispensable in talking about the history of Yanagawa. Their military exploits, culture, and deep ties with the local residents have played an important role in shaping the Yanagawa of today.
The Tachibana family and 400 years of Yanagawa history
It was about 400 years ago that Tachibana Muneshige became the lord of Yanagawa Castle.
It was in 1587 that the Sengoku warlord Tachibana Muneshige entered Yanagawa Castle under the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Muneshige was a vassal of the Otomo clan, a feudal lord in Kyushu, but Hideyoshi recognized his military achievements and promoted him to feudal lord status. Muneshige was not only skilled in battle. He was also an excellent leader, and it seems he was trusted by the people of Yanagawa.
Muneshige sided with the Western Army in the Battle of Sekigahara and was driven out of his territory. Afterwards, he experienced life as a wanderer, but his military achievements and character during his time as Toyotomi were recognized by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and he was restored as the lord of Yanagawa Domain. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Tachibana Muneshige was the only daimyo who was able to regain his former territory after being driven out. → Click here for more details on the history of the Tachibana family
Fumiko, the 16th generation of the Tachibana family, married Kazuo and decided to run a Japanese restaurant using the Tachibana daimyo mansion.
This was the birth of the restaurant and inn "Ohana."
The people of Yanagawa were astonished, saying, "A lord and a princess are running a restaurant!"
"At the time, the conversation was often along the lines of, 'It's natural for feudal lords to frequent traditional Japanese restaurants, but I'd never heard of one running one', and 'If you fail, you'll be the laughing stock of society.'" Fumiko, with her usual cheerfulness, encouraged Kazuo by saying, "You'll manage to do it," and although it took many years for things to get on track, Onohana today has become a tourist hub for Yanagawa.
It is loved by many people as a cultural facility that conveys daimyo culture to the present day. →Today, the restaurant and inn Ohana, run by a descendant of the Tachibana family, is here
Yoshimasa Tanaka, the man who shaped Yanagawa
He sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Sekigahara, and was recognized for his achievement in capturing Ishida Mitsunari. He became the lord of Chikugo Province and entered Yanagawa Castle in 1601.
Tanaka Yoshimasa was not just a military commander, but also an excellent urban planner and flood control engineer. He was called the "god of civil engineering" and showed a wide range of talents, greatly changing Yanagawa.
First, Yoshimasa renovated Yanagawa Castle and developed the castle town. It can be said that the urban structure that forms the foundation of modern Yanagawa was established at this time. Yanagawa, a low-lying marshland along the Ariake Sea coast, was plagued by floods, and Yoshimasa carried out large-scale flood control projects and worked hard to solve the problem. Many of the canal networks that characterize Yanagawa were developed during Yoshimasa's time. This moat not only improved transportation access but also served as a defense for the castle. He also focused on promoting agriculture and commerce, contributing to the economic development of Yanagawa.
Many of Yoshimasa's achievements can still be seen in present-day Yanagawa. Many things that are visible to the eye, such as Yanagawa Castle, its moats, and the structure of the castle town, were shaped by Yoshimasa's hand. His achievements are the foundation of modern-day Yanagawa and are deeply rooted in the lives of its people. If you visit Yanagawa, be sure to follow in the footsteps of Tanaka Yoshimasa and experience his great accomplishments. → Click here for Shinshoji Temple
-Yanagikawa goes around the castle three times, seven times, the water flows around the blooming lotus-
Why does Yanagawa have so many waterways?
The total distance of the canal is an astounding 930 km, the same length as between Tokyo and Hakata.
To understand the reason, we need to go back to the origins of Yanagawa. The place where you are standing was once the sea.
As the sediment carried by the river accumulated there, the land expanded, and Japan's largest tidal flats were created. A tidal flat is an area that appears as land when the sea goes low tide.
About 2000 years ago, people began building houses in this damp marshland. However, whenever heavy rain caused the river to overflow, their houses were washed away in an instant. How could they survive in this place? They came up with the idea of digging a trench in the land and piling up the soil. This stabilized the land, allowing them to build houses and create rice fields.
But that's not all. Rainwater accumulates in the ditch. Using that water makes life easier. This is the beginning of the history of canals.
As time passed, the number of these canals increased, they connected to form waterways, and water towns were built. Then, during the Sengoku period, a castle was built in Yanagawa, and the canals of the castle town and castle moats were developed to a high standard.
Their goal was to draw in some of the water from a large river and create a waterway that would distribute it throughout the town like a spider's web. This was a process of repeated trial and error. They failed to control the flow of the canal, and each time the water rose and flooded the town, they had to fine-tune the canal, which was the cause of the problem.
Through repeated trial and error, a network of waterways like a precision machine was laid out, and a system was completed that not only provided water for daily life, but also irrigated and drained the fields.
Why did they need to go to such lengths? In fact, Yanagawa faces the Ariake Sea, which has the greatest tidal range in Japan. Because of this, at high tide the sea level is higher than the land. Can you imagine that? The place where you are standing would be lower than sea level. If the levees were to break, water would rush in from the sea and flood the area. To prevent this, sturdy levees were built along the coast.
However, there is another problem. That is, the water from the river flowing from upstream. Normally, the water from the river flows out into the sea, but if this place is lower than sea level, the water cannot be discharged into the sea. Therefore, the water from the river keeps accumulating in the town.
That's where the canals come in. The 930km-long canals that run through Yanagawa are filled with water to hold the water and act as flood reservoirs. If time is allowed until low tide, the sea level will once again be lower than the land and the water can be drained into the sea. That's why the canals were needed. The people of Yanagawa continued to use the canal system and drink the water from the canals until before the war, but in the Showa era, an unprecedented flood occurred and the town was flooded again. This led to the construction of dams upstream, which caused the water flow in the canals to become poorer.
At the same time, the waterworks were completed, and water came out when you turned on the tap. The people of Yanagawa no longer needed the canal, as they no longer had to fetch water from the river that was the canal. Before long, the canal became like a garbage dump, and the river became increasingly polluted. Eventually, the canal began to emit a foul odor, and plans were made to block it off by turning it into an underground channel. At that time, someone spoke up, saying, "Let's bring back the clear waters of our hometown's river."
This person held over 100 meetings to gain the support of the local residents. The key was "memories of when the canal was clean" and "the formative experiences of playing in the river as children." Recalling these memories, the people of Yanagawa faced the canal again after having turned their backs on it for a while, in order to revive the scenery of those days, and spent several years cleaning it up. The result was the beautiful water town of Yanagawa that we know today.
The scenery you see in Yanagawa has survived to this day through these stories. Why does Yanagawa have so many rivers? Perhaps the answer can be found in the stories told so far.
