Main Cities (Takehara)

Little Kyoto of Aki (place name): Takehara

preservation area of the street

Walking through the streets of up- and downtown gives you an impression of a quiet and peaceful comforting agelessness. Roofs covered with cylindrical roof tiles, painted walls and the lattice work (renji) of the windows breathe the quietness of a town, unchanged since it flourished mainly based on salt making and preserves the city appearance of the Edo period.
The urban region of Takehara was the cradle for many learned men, Rai Sanyou the most achieved of them, and has flourished for as long as 2,000 years already. Yoko-Omichi of the upper reaches of the Kamo river or Tamari-Kagamida tombs are suggestive examples. The Tou station and the park of Kyoto-Shimo-Kamo of the Heian period were established and in medieval times Takehara-Kobayakawa organized and unified the area. The region flourished during the Edo period as a place of salt manufacture and the city appearance still speaks vividly of the ensuing economical power. City design and development is a quiet expression of Takehara's being a center of cultural and economic and growth.

City of culture and bamboo parks, Takehara

bamboo street "trees"

In the basin of Kamo river, that flows through the center of the city, many remnants dating from the second half of the "Jomon" period are found. This proves that this region has sustained human life since very early periods.
During the period of the ancient laws the "Tou" station was established in the northern part of the city. During he Heian period it was later converted into a park belonging to Kyoto-Shima-Kamo Shrine and was thus named "Tou, Takehara So".
During the Kamakura period the Takehara-Kobayakawa family flourished and developed. Still today the whole area of Takehara city belongs to the territory of the Takehara-Kobayakawa family.
After entering the Edo period, salt farmes were opened in the lower reaches of Kamo river and led to a rapid development of Takehara. The activity of the merchants sustaining the prosperity of this area of salt manufacture at the Inland sea of Japan also created on this economically rich basis what came to be known as the "Takehara culture". It produced many men of culture like Rai Sanyou and Rai familiy.
A group of traditional buildings in Takehara's up- and downtown have been designated important national hereditary treasures (city preservation areas). The atmosphere of the remnants of the old city pervades these districts. In 1958 Takehara town and 10 neighboring towns and villages fused and formed the present Takehara city. In 1989 bamboo was integrated in the concepts of city planing under the slogan "City of crossing sea and sky" (city of culture and bamboo). Under the theme 'bamboo' the general sport facility "Bamboo Joy Highland" was build and bamboo planted and grown as street trees. Together with the creation of a 2,500 m long bamboo alley bamboo was put to its best effects in variety of fields. Currently Takehara tries to create the most fascinating place using bamboo, at least in Japan.

Okuno island poison gas museum

In 1929 the military built on the Okuno island off the coast of Takehara a poison gas factory. During the war poison gas was manufactured here. To keep it secret the island has even been erased from the map.
Presently, the whole island is developed as a national vacation spot and the only things that might recall the past are some remaining canon pedestals, a power plant and the gas depots. Yet, the manufacture of poison gas on this island has claimed many lives. Materials documenting these historical facts are exhibited in Okuno island poison gas museum to demonstrate the meaninglessness of war and the tragic of poison gas production.

Main Cities (Takehara)