National Historic Sites
As of 1 August 2019, twenty-five Sites have been designated as being of national significance (including three *Special Historic Sites); Kii Castle spans the prefectural borders with Fukuoka. [2] [3] [4]
| Site | Municipality | Comments | Image | Coordinates | Type | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Yoshinogari Site 吉野ヶ里遺跡 Yoshinogari iseki | Kanzaki, Yoshinogari | fortified Yayoi-period settlement, the subject of extensive excavation from 1986; 2500 burials with ICP grave goods have been uncovered; the site has been reconstructed on the basis of hypotheses drawn from the postholes; now a National Government Park [5] [6] |  | 33°19′31″N130°23′04″E / 33.32541401°N 130.38439419°E | 1 | |
| *Nagoya Castle ruins 名護屋城跡並陣跡 Nagoya-jō ato narabainijin ato | Karatsu, Genkai | begun in 1591 and completed five months later; extends over 17 ha; stone walls, earthworks, moats, gates and other buildings have been identified; served as the base for Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea between 1592 and 1598; [5] focus of the Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum |  | 33°31′49″N129°52′05″E / 33.53035107°N 129.86811091°E | 2 | |
| *Kii Castle ruins 基肄(椽)城跡 Kii-jō ato | Kiyama | its construction in 665 under Baekje guidance, as the castle of Woyogi (椽), is chronicled in Nihon Shoki ; formed part of a network of defences dating to the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Hakusukinoe in 663 to protect Dazaifu against the threat of invasion from the Korean peninsula by Silla-Tang forces; [7] [8] [9] the designation includes an area of Chikushino in Fukuoka Prefecture |  | 33°26′36″N130°30′45″E / 33.44347145°N 130.51252934°E | 2 | |
| Otsuboyama Kōgoishi おつぼ山神籠石 Otsuboyama kōgoishi | Takeo | earthworks stretching 1,866 m, with stone pillar bases and sluice gates; there is a theory that construction was related to defeat at the Battle of Hakusukinoe in 663 [10] |  | 33°10′41″N130°03′23″E / 33.17811724°N 130.05648151°E | 1 | |
| Yasunagata Site 安永田遺跡 Yasunagata iseki | Tosu | Yayoi-period "high-tech factory" (ハイテク工場); bronze-casting site, discovered in 1974 and extending over an area of 4,400 m2, with five moulds for dōtaku (bells) and five for hoko (spears); traces of bronze found on the valley floor suggest this may have been the site of the smelting works [11] |  | 33°23′55″N130°30′52″E / 33.39864472°N 130.51458072°E | 1 | |
| Yokotashimo Kofun 横田下古墳 Yokotashimo kofun | Karatsu | kofun or burial mound with red walls and three stone sarcophagi in which were found, in 1923, bronze mirrors and cylinders, magatama (comma-shaped beads), iron arrowheads, armour, and Haji ware [12] [13] | 33°26′04″N130°02′01″E / 33.43447582°N 130.03355397°E | 1 | ||
| Kakiemon Kiln Site 柿右衛門窯跡 Kakiemon kama ato | Arita | double climbing kiln: A, with 12 firing chambers, a length of 42 metres, and an average incline of 11.5°; and B, with 21 chambers, a length of 83 metres, and an average gradient of 13°; saggars and kiln tools have also been recovered [14] |  | 33°10′51″N129°52′07″E / 33.18093825°N 129.86871429°E | 6 | |
| Nabatake Site 菜畑遺跡 Nabatake iseki | Karatsu | acclaimed as Japan's first paddy; important for the understanding of the adoption of wet-rice technology, introduced from the continent; [5] focus of the Matsurokan exhibition hall |  | 33°26′55″N129°57′28″E / 33.44858876°N 129.95790471°E | 1 | |
| Mietsu Naval Dock Site 三重津海軍所跡 Mietsu kaigunsho ato | Saga | inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining [15] |  | 33°12′28″N130°20′24″E / 33.207732°N 130.340137°E | 2 | |
| Anegawa Castle ruins 姉川城跡 Anegawa-jō ato | Kanzaki | strategic site under Ryūzōji Takanobu but declined in importance after the unification of Kyūshū by Toyotomi Hideyoshi; the site extends 600 metres E-W and 800 N-S, with related mansions, temples and shrines, and a complex network of moats [16] |  | 33°17′35″N130°20′54″E / 33.29314988°N 130.34839565°E | 2 | |
| Katsunoo Castle Tsukushi Clan Sites 勝尾城 筑紫氏遺跡 Katsuno-jō Tsukushi-shi iseki | Tosu | fortified at the end of the fifteenth century; attacked by the Shimazu clan in 1586 and later abandoned; excavations from 1995 have revealed an extensive site with moats, earthworks, mansions for retainers, temples and shrines [17] |  | 33°24′08″N130°27′55″E / 33.40213518°N 130.46524915°E | 2 | |
| Nishikuma Kofun 西隈古墳 Nishikuma kofun | Saga | C5 decorated kofun housing a large sarcophagus, with red pigmentation and incised decoration of triangles and circles [5] [18] |  | 33°19′39″N130°17′36″E / 33.32738344°N 130.29346106°E | 1 | |
| Taku Seibyō 多久聖廟 Taku Seibyō | Taku | a Neo-Confucian school was established by Taku Shigefumi ( 多久茂文 ) in 1699; the ICP temple dates to 1708; major repairs at the end of the Shōwa period were completed in 1990 [19] [20] |  | 33°15′35″N130°05′51″E / 33.25974392°N 130.09758673°E | 4 | |
| Obukumayama Kōgoishi 帯隈山神籠石 Obukumayama kōgoishi | Saga | C7 fortifications discovered in 1941, that extend for 2.4 km and include a gate [13] |  | 33°20′01″N130°20′04″E / 33.33361745°N 130.33454194°E | 1 | |
| Ōkuma Shigenobu Former Residence 大隈重信旧宅 Ōkuma Shigenobu kyū-taku | Saga | birthplace in 1838 of the Meiji statesman and future prime minister; dismantled for repairs in 1968 and open to the public alongside the Ōkuma Memorial Museum (大隈記念館) [13] |  | 33°14′53″N130°18′31″E / 33.24812272°N 130.30848099°E | 8 | |
| Ōkawachi Nabeshima Kiln Site 大川内鍋島窯跡 Ōkawachi Nabeshima kama ato | Imari | the ceramic craft technique of Nabeshima iro (overglaze) is an Important Intangible Cultural Property [21] [22] |  | 33°13′57″N129°53′37″E / 33.23237631°N 129.89347898°E | 6 | |
| Taniguchi Kofun 谷口古墳 Taniguchi kofun | Karatsu | seventy-seven metre, keyhole-shaped kofun with two stone chambers, boat-shaped sarcophagi, and grave goods that include mirrors, stone combs, items made of iron, and haji ware, dated to the end of the fourth century [5] | 33°27′10″N130°03′16″E / 33.45271378°N 130.05455231°E | 1 | ||
| Chōshizuka Kofun 銚子塚古墳 Chōshizuka kofun | Saga | large early kofun, 98 metres long and dating to the second half of the fourth century [5] |  | 33°19′04″N130°17′58″E / 33.317788°N 130.29953399°E | 1 | |
| Tashiroōta Kofun 田代太田古墳 Tashiroōta kofun | Tosu | triple-chambered, 42 metre decorated kofun with red ochre, carbon black and green earth paintings of triangles, concentric circles, boats, humans with outstretched arms, and figures on horseback, concentrated on the rear wall of the burial chamber [23] [24] |  | 33°23′42″N130°30′55″E / 33.39496411°N 130.51533112°E | 1 | |
| Habu Site 土生遺跡 Habu iseki | Ogi | Yayoi settlement discovered in 1971 during works to remedy environmental damage caused by mining; evidence uncovered of houses (some now reconstructed), storage pits, and wells, along with the first mould for a yari ganna (spear-plane), tools of stone and wood, and ceramics [5] |  | 33°16′33″N130°12′02″E / 33.27589625°N 130.20046116°E | 1 | |
| Karatsu Matsuura Site 唐津松浦墳墓群 Karatsu Matsuura funbo-gun | Karatsu | designation includes the Hayamjiri Dolmen Cluster ( 葉山尻支石墓群 ) (Jōmon-period cemetery discovered in 1951 and excavated in 1952/3; six dolmens, twenty-six jar burials, and one kofun identified), [5] Ōdomo Site (大友遺跡), Moritashi Dolmen Cluster (森田支石墓群), and Sakura no Baba Site ( 桜馬場遺跡 ) | 33°24′37″N130°01′18″E / 33.41031679°N 130.02157169°E | 1 | ||
| Higashimyō Site 東名遺跡 Higashimyō iseki | Saga | Jōmon period settlement and shell midden site |  | 33°15′48″N130°18′03″E / 33.263375°N 130.30077222°E | 1 | |
| Hizen Provincial Headquarters ruins 肥前国庁跡 Bizen koku-chō ato | Saga | ruins of the Nara- and early Heian-period administrative centre of Hizen Province, extending 105 metres N-S and 77 metres E-W, with similarities to Dazaifu [13] |  | 33°19′01″N130°16′26″E / 33.31687002°N 130.27376334°E | 2 | |
| Hizen Porcelain Kiln Sites 肥前磁器窯跡 Bizen-jiki kama ato | Arita, Takeo, Ureshino | designation includes the Tengudani Kiln Site (天狗谷窯跡), Yamabeta Kiln Site (山辺田窯跡), Haraake Kiln Site (原明窯跡), Hyakken Kiln Site (百間窯跡), Fudōyama Kiln Site (不動山窯跡), and the site of the Izumiyama Clayworks (泉山磁石場跡) |  | 33°11′39″N129°54′36″E / 33.19428217°N 129.9098826°E | 6 | |
| Hizen Pottery Kiln Sites 肥前陶器窯跡 Bizen-tōki kama ato | Takeo, Karatsu, Taku | active from the late C16/early C17 [13] | 33°14′08″N129°59′07″E / 33.23557013°N 129.98520287°E | 6 | ||
