Site of Masunaga Fort 増永城跡

Official explanation

Masunaga Fort was a medieval stronghold on the Hazama River west of the castle town of Waifu (now central Kikuchi). The fort was established in the twelfth century by Kikuchi Masataka, one of the sons of Kikuchi clan patriarch Noritaka, who built a compound with earthen walls on the site and took the surname Saigo (“Western Outpost”) after the location.

The fort is thought to have played a key role in overseeing traffic on the river and storing crops and other goods awaiting transport from Kikuchi, a thriving agricultural region. It was part of a network of fortresses built by the Kikuchi clan to protect Waifu. The river flooded frequently, however, which made the fort difficult to maintain.

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All that remains of Masunaga Fort today is the site of an old well and some earthen fortifications. A memorial to Saigo Takamori (1828–1877) is also located here. Saigo was a leader in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ushered in the modernization of Japan. Local legend holds that the Saigo of Kikuchi were Takamori’s ancestors.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.