Izumi-fumoto Samurai Residences

Kagoshima, Kyushu

A town for border security developed more than 400 years ago
The shadow of the Edo Period left in a streetscape where many old samurai houses are preserved

The area around Fumotocho in Izumi City, Kagoshima Prefecture is currently a residential area, but it used to be a hilly area at the foot of a mountain castle back in medieval times. More than 400 years ago, a ground-leveling project for this hilly area was implemented by the feudal lords of three generations. After more than 30 years of work, the area was turned into houses and military bases for samurai dispatched to Izumi. Izumi is in an area in the former Satsuma Domain (now Kagoshima Prefecture) and was adjacent to Higo Domain (now Kumamoto Prefecture). Therefore, it was necessary for many samurai to live in Izumi as manpower for border security and emergencies.

So streets and stone walls were formed, to which only small alterations were made even in the modern era. There are many old samurai houses and the gates are still preserved. Therefore, the memory of the Edo Period (1603-1868) remains strongly in the cityscape of the approximately 44 ha area. You can enjoy the atmosphere of Edo just by walking around here, but there are also old samurai houses that you can actually enter, including Takezoe House and Takemiya House, which are partly open to the public, and Saisho House, which is fully open. It is highly recommended to observe these places and check out the structure of samurai houses in the Edo Period.


Fumoto-cho, Izumi City, Kagoshima
0996-63-4061 (Commerce and Sightseeing Division, Izumi City)

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