“The Western Capital”, An Ancient International City With A Rich 1300-Year History, Registered As A Japan Heritage Site

Visible from Mount Tempai, where Sugawara no Michizane is said to have plead to the heavens for his innocence, are Mount Homan, where national rituals and prayers for safe voyage were made, as well as Ashikisan-jo Fortress along the official road leading to Buzen. At the foot of the mountains is Suita Hot Springs (Futsukaichi Hot Springs), which were mentioned in the Man'yoshu, and serve as a place of healing and exchange to this day. Situated nearby are the ruins of the abandoned Sugizuka Temple and Tonoharu Pagoda. The southern outskirts of the capital are teeming with the culture of this ancient city.

Roughly 2,000 years ago, the Fukuoka Plains were called the “Country of Na” and the area around Kasuga Hills, where royal tombs have been discovered, was brimming with foreign culture and technology. After the Battle of Baekgang in 663, fortresses large and small were built in the valleys between hills using civil engineering techniques from the Korean peninsula, and when the Western Capital was established, foreign envoys and merchants traveled along the official roads here. Traveling around the city lets you trace this history of international exchange.

Mizuki Fortress appears in the Nihon Shoki. Earthen fortifications built with advanced civil engineering techniques blocked off the plains and, together with Ono-jo Fortress, created a barricade to the “Western Capital”, where officials from the capital and foreign envoys were welcomed. Pottery for the “Western Capital” was produced in the Sue Kilns of the Ushikubi area using superior pottery techniques, and the Zenichida Burial Mounds are where ancestors who supported the diplomacy that made this possible are laid to rest. Stand in this land and you can see these ancient sceneries for yourself.

The “Western Capital” was a hub of East Asian exchange. Protected by a fortress modeled after the capital of Baekje, the capital had a grid block, government offices, and guesthouses modeled after the capital of the Tang, decorated with delicately-patterned tiles. Foreign envoys and merchants brought advanced culture and artifacts, and intellectuals such as Otomo no Tabito and Sugawara no Michizane spread this new culture. This ancient city retains its heritage and fascinates many as an international tourist destination.

Sakuta no Unade is a man-made waterway that brings water from Naka River gently down the plateau. Appearing in the Chronicle of Empress Jingu in the Nihon Shoki established in 720, this waterway has a long history. This trench running through the plains stretches a total of roughly 5.5 km, helping form a rich grain-producing region that supported the development of the “Western Capital”. Landscapes of water flowing quietly even now retain vestiges of the area’s past.

Mount Shioji was written of the in Man'yoshu. Ono-jo Fortress was built in 665 after the Battle of Baekgang as a cornerstone of a defense network, and later served as the northern defense of the "Western Capital". During the Nara Period, Shitenno-ji Temple was built for spiritual protection of the state, where prayers were offered to protect the nation. During the Heian period, numerous sutra mounds were built in the pursuit of salvation during the Latter Days of the Law. This stage of protection and prayer watches quietly over the people to this day.

Kii-jo Fortress was built together with Ono-jo Fortress in 665 and eventually became the southern defense of the “Western Capital”. Otomo no Tabito, whose wife died during his station as director of Dazaifu during the Nara period, went to the top of the fortress along with an official who was visiting to pay condolences. Looking out over the view from the fortress, he composed a mourning poem, and the lord of Chikugo Fujii no Onari composed a poem about the lonely mountain road Otomo no Tabito traveled when returning to Nara. Climb to the peak of the mountain and let your heart be swayed by the feelings of these people from the past.