Hita, Tenryo Town

Hita is in the center of Kyushu. In the Edo period, the government placed the governing role here.

Mameda Town

Hita thrived in the Edo period as Tenryo, a place directly ruled by the Shogunate. It produces good quality cedar lumber. This area retains many merchant houses and their mortar storages built in the Edo and Meiji periods. It gives us an impression of a town from old times. It is listed as a Preserved Important Traditional Group of Constructions. More about Tenryo , Click here.

Hina Doll Palace in Soy Sauce Shop

Hita Syoyu, a shop selling soy sauce and miso paste, has a hina dolls museum inside. It displays more than 3,000 hina dolls, many of which were made in the Edo period. You can see dolls in gorgeous kimono, oki-age (easy-made hina dolls made only in restricted areas), very rare hina dolls about 200 to 250 years old, and modern ones.  More about Hina Dolls , Click here.

Kangien

This was the private school founded by Tanso Hirose in the late Edo period. He was a Confucian scholar, so he taught the students Confucian teachings. Not only that, but he also taught them Western subjects like mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. “Kangi” means “Everything is good” and “En” means “Garden.” Some of the students made great contributions to the Meiji government.

Quotes from Tanso Hirose
 「人材を教育するのは善の大なるものなり」
---Teaching people is the greatest virtue.
「心高身低」
---High in spirit, humble in demeanor.
 「鋭さも鈍さも共に捨て難し、錐と槌とに使い分けなば」
---Both the sharp and the dull are important. It is like needing both a drill and a hammer.

Nihon-gan Kan

This is a preserved old shop and residence for medicine merchants from old times. Nihon-gan is the name of a panacea medicine from the Edo and Meiji periods. The formulation was only known to the head member of the merchant Iwata family. In those days, it sold very well. Now it isn’t made because of the lack of some main ingredients. If you pay a fee, you can go up and see the inside of the old house. More about Japanese Houses , Click here.

Hita Cedar

Hita Hill is considered one of the top three most beautiful cedar woods in Japan.They sell a lot of everyday items made from Hita cedar.  Geta clogs are the most famous products of all. 

—Geta: It is clogs made of wood with a thong on the upper side and two teeth under. When you walk in Geta, it makes a particular sound. Karan, Koron! Japanese people don’t wear Geta anymore except on some special occasions like summer festivals with a yukata. 

Other Souvenirs

—Hita Bell: It is made of clay and serves as a talisman to drive away evil.

—Onta Yaki: It is pottery produced in the Hita area. The geometrical design on the pottery is a well-known feature. One of these designs is “Tobikanna,” which features a series of numerous small, elongated diamond-shaped patterns arranged in a spiral form. More about Pottery and Porcelain , Click here.