Ganjaku Castle

The immensely powerful Taira no Kiyomori supposedly ordered a retainer to build Ganjaku Castle (Ganjaku-jo), which was completed in 1158, on the summit of Ganjaku-yama. After that it changed hands frequently due to war. It was destroyed by the army of the hegemon Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century. The foundations of the castle gates and old roof tiles remain to this day.

Kokura Castle

It is not clear when the first castle was built here. The daimyo Mori Katsunobu, who governed the present areas of Fukuoka and Oita Prefecture at the beginning of the 17th century, spent roughly six years from 1602 on major repairs, and created the form of Kokura Castle (Kokura-jo) we see today. The setting of the castle is impressive as it has double and triple moats with a donjon at the center. It is a noted example of Japanese castle architecture. The castle was destroyed during clashes in 1865, but the stone walls and moats remain. The present four-tiered, six-storied donjon was built in 1954 and houses a historical reference museum.

Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History

In November 2002, three municipal museums in Kitakyushu, the Natural History Museum, the Human History Museum and the Museum of Archaeology, were combined into the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History. With its concept of "the Journey of Life," the Museum is committed to presenting the evolution of life on earth and human history. The main streets, named the Earth Mall and Culture Mall, divide the exhibition into a Natural History Zone with 4,500 items, such as fossils and other specimens, and a History Zone with 1,500 items, such as earthware and ancient texts.

Kyushu National Museum

The Kyushu National Museum was established in 2005, and was Japan's first new national museum in 108 years. While the National Museums in Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara boast their collections of art, the Kyushu National Museum focuses on Japanese history. Located in Dazaifu, Fukuoka prefecture, with its historical background as a contact point for cultural exchange between the Asian Continent and Japan, the museum carries with it "a new perspective on Japanese cultural formation in the context of Asian history." The Cultural Exchange Room (permanent exhibition) comprises a 1,500-square-meter core exhibition room and 11 related exhibition rooms under five historical categories. The exhibition constantly changes and always features its predominant theme, the history of cultural exchanges between Japan and other Asian countries.

Fukuoka Ajia Bijutsukan

One of the major activities of Fukuoka Ajia Bijutsukan (the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum) is to invite artists from various Asian countries to Fukuoka, have them produce works during their stay, and make the production process open to the public. The Museum provides a workshop and other facilities, and sets up events allowing many people to be in direct contact with artists and get a feel for contemporary Asia. The works created through such activities are displayed in regular exhibitions tracing trends in modern and contemporary art in Asia.

Fukuoka-shi Bijutsukan

Fukuoka-shi Bijutsukan (The Fukuoka Municipal Museum) is located in Ohori Koen, a park in the city of Fukuoka. The museum's collections focus on artists linked with the Kyushu region, in which Fukuoka Prefecture is located; the fine art of the 20th century; and the art of Asia. Modern works in the collection include Joan Miro's Dancer Listening to Organ in a Gothic Cathedral and Mark Chagall's Flying Sleigh, while contemporary artworks include Andy Warhol's Elvis, and Anish Kapoor's Mother as a Void. The collection also includes the color-patterned ceramics of Arita ware, ceramic works from Southeast Asia, and Indonesian dye-woven cloth. Older artworks include Hanakago-zu (Painting of a Flower Basket), by Ogata Kenzan.

Kita Kyushu Shiritsu Bijutsukan

Kitakyushu Shiritsu Bijutsukan (Kitakyushu Municipal Museum) is known for having introduced the first system in Japan under which volunteers offer visitors explanations of the museum's collection, a service introduced with the opening of the museum in 1974. At present around 80 volunteers, each of whom has completed several years of training, are actively engaged on a rotating basis in guiding museum visitors every day. The works held by the museum include: pieces by Ryusei Kishida, a Western-style painter, among them Jiga-zo (Self-portrait) and T-no Shozo (Portrait of T.); ukiyo-e woodblock prints by Utagawa Hiroshige, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Katsushika Hokusai and others; and works by overseas artists including Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Georges Rouault, and Frank Stella.

Dazaifu Tenman-gu Shrine

Dazaifu Tenman-gu is in the city of Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture. The shrine's sanctuary is said to have been built in 919. In 903 the government official, prominent scholar, and master calligrapher Sugawara Michizane was exiled from Kyoto and died unhappily in Dazaifu. He was buried in the place where the oxcart carrying his body was immobilized, and a shrine was built at that site to his memory. Later, as Kyoto was plagued by disasters, the government interpreted these happenings as the result of a curse placed upon them by the unlucky official. The government therefore nullified his demotion and built a shrine to his memory. Today, many students taking entrance examinations visit the Dazaifu Tenman-gu seeking divine favor from this deity of learning.

Hikosan-jingu Shrine

Located on the boundary between Fukuoka and Oita Prefectures, Hiko-san has been venerated from ancient times as a sacred mountain. It was also a center of training for the Shugen-do sect of Buddhism. The Hikosan-jingu is in Soeda-machi, located on the Fukuoka Prefecture side of the mountain. The Jo-gu is located in the innermost part of the shrine grounds on the top of Naka-dake, the center peak of the three Hiko-san peaks. The sanctuary is said to have been built in 740. The Hohei-den, a large lecture hall built in 1616, and the Kane-no-Torii, a bronze Shinto gateway built in 1637, have both been designated Important Cultural Properties by the Japanese government.

Munakata-taisha Nakatsu-gu Shrine

Munakata-taisha and Nakatsu-gu, located in Oshima-mura on the island of Chikuzen-oshima, Fukuoka Prefecture, ranks alongside the Munakata-taisha and Hetsu-gu located in Genkai-machi, Fukuoka Prefecture. It is sacred to Tagitsu-Hime-no-Kami, the daughter of the sun goddess, Amaterasu-O-mikami. The shrine is located at the foot of the mountain Mitake-san. In its precincts gushes a clear stream called Ameno-manai, and there is also a smaller stream named Amano-gawa whose source is located on the mountain Ontake-san. The shrines Kengyu-jinja and Orihime-jinja face each other with the Amano-gawa between them. This site is regarded as the birthplace of the Tanabata legend of the Star Festival, according to which Kengyu (the herdsman, Altair) and Ori-hime (the weaver, Vega) are celestial lovers who are able to meet only once a year.

Hakata dolls

Hakata-ningyo are earthenware dolls produced in the district of Hakata in the city of Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The dolls are made using clay found near Hakata, formed into a human figure, fired unglazed and then colored with clay paints. Tradition has it that the dolls were first made when a tiler presented a doll to Kuroda Nagamasa, who became the feudal lord of this region, when Kuroda was building his castle. Broadly speaking there are three types of doll: dolls depicting beautiful women, and dolls depicting men and children, and originally most dolls were inspired by Noh, Kabuki and Ukiyo-e. Recently, craftspeople here have also begun to make dolls depicting more modern customs and lifestyles. Hakata dolls were designated a traditional craft in 1976.

Hakata weaving

Tradition has it that Hakata-ori came into being after merchants of this region traveled to China and brought back weaving techniques in around the 13th century. The head of the Kuroda family that governed this region presented cloth woven with these techniques to the shogun of the Edo (Tokyo) Shogunate, which governed Japan in the 17th century, and the high quality of the weaving became renowned throughout the country. Hakata weaving consists of hira-ori (plain weave) incorporating elegant, detailed designs, and mon-ori (armure - a fabric made with a twilled or ribbed surface) with fine, delicate patterns. The main Hakata weaving product is the obi (sash worn with kimono), but these days weavers also produce neckties and interior fabrics. Hakata weaving was designated a traditional craft in 1976.

Kurume kasuri (splashed pattern fabric)

Tradition has it that the manufacture of cotton textiles became widespread in the present-day city of Kurume in Fukuoka Prefecture when the feudal lord who governed this region admonished the people for their desire for luxury and encouraged them to wear cotton garments. In the 19th century, a skilled weaver by the name of Den Inoue, while still a teenager, carried out extensive research and experimented with different weaving techniques, eventually developing a style of weaving in which parts of the textile appear to have a splashed pattern. This style of weaving, kasuri, became greatly prized and quickly spread across the region. After World War II automated looms spread quickly, but traditional hand weaving techniques are still preserved in this region. Kurume-kasuri was designated a traditional craft in 1976.