Utazu Town

Once a top salt town, fields revived.

Restored salt fields

Photo by Toto-tarou (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Goshoji

Shingon and Jodo Shu,the only temple to hold both in Shikoku.

Goshoji (郷照寺), tradition says, was founded in 725 by the monk Gyoki. In 815, Kobo Daishi carved a statue of himself here and prayed for protection from misfortune. In 1288, the priest Ippen opened a Jodo Shu hall of chanting at the temple, making it the only one among Shikoku's 88 pilgrimage temples to uphold both the Shingon and Jodo Shu schools of Buddhism.

Founded 725, by tradition
Kobo Daishi's prayer, 815
Only temple with both sects in Shikoku

02 ／ Iwasaka

Before the shrine stood,a great stone was already here.

Deep within the grounds of Ubushina Shrine (宇夫階神社) stands the iwasaka (磐境), a huge stone about 4 m across and 5.5 m tall, estimated at over 300 tons. It is said to be an ancient site of ritual older than the shrine itself. Wrapped in a sacred rope, it is still worshipped as the dwelling place of a god.

About 4 m across, 5.5 m tall
Estimated at over 300 tons
Said to predate the shrine

03 ／ Sankakutei

At a fertilizer merchant's villa,a Western-style triangular tower rises.

Sankakutei (倉の館三角邸), or Kura-no-Yakata, was built as a villa for the Sakai family (堺家), fertilizer merchants. Inside tiled walls, the main house has a hip-and-gable roof, topped at its northwest corner by a Western-style triangular tower. The main house, an annex, and the east gate were registered as National Tangible Cultural Properties in 2007, and the town acquired the property in 1996.

Early Showa-era building
National Tangible Cultural Property, 2007
Acquired by the town, 1996

Living here

Kagawa's smallest town, where two rail lines meet.

about 20,000 people
Rural district town

Utazu Station is where the Seto-Ohashi Line, crossing the bridge from Okayama, joins the Yosan Line. At just 8.10 km2, Utazu is the smallest town in Kagawa Prefecture by area, yet it remains a hub where limited express trains pass through.

People living here: 18,699people
Area: 8.1km²
Households: 8,734households
Rent (average for rentals): 47,508yen
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 9 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —3 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 2 municipalities.

Utazu Town in Japan34.311°N 133.826°E

Territory of Utazu Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

5.7km

丸亀市, 坂出市

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Utazu Town isthis kind of town.

01Utazu prospered from salt-making from the Edo period on. By the time the town was founded in 1898, it had eight salt fields and five salt companies, and was known as Japan's top salt town. Visitors can still try salt-making at a restored input-style salt field (入浜式塩田).
02Goshoji (郷照寺), the 78th temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage, was founded, tradition says, by the monk Gyoki, and Kobo Daishi is said to have prayed there for protection from misfortune. After the priest Ippen opened a Jodo Shu hall of chanting, it became the only temple among the 88 to uphold both the Shingon and Jodo Shu schools.
03Deep within Ubushina Shrine (宇夫階神社) stands the iwasaka (磐境), a stone estimated at over 300 tons, and in the old Komachi (古街) district, Sankakutei (倉の館三角邸), a National Tangible Cultural Property once owned by fertilizer merchants, still carries its Western-style triangular tower.

See the town as it is now.

FacebookUtazuTown ↗

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Utazu Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗