Kashima Town

Names go on wooden hand and foot molds.

Ashite Kojin, Kai Shrine

Photo by Simasakon (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Ukishima

No island, yet the shrine is called one.It stands on land jutting into a pond.

At Ukishima in Idera (井寺), Ukishima Kumanomasu Shrine stands on a spit reaching into a pond. Kumamoto Prefecture says the name comes from how the shrine looks as if floating on the water. It is not an island but land that juts into the pond like a peninsula.

Name explained by Kumamoto Prefecture
Not an island but a spit in a pond

02 ／ Jōkanzuka Enclosure Haniwa

An enclosure haniwa, the first found in the prefecture,came from the ditch of a Jōkanzuka tomb.

The town board of education's report records that an enclosure haniwa (囲形埴輪) came out of the ditch of Tomb SZ09 at the Jōkanzuka site (上官塚遺跡), along with a house haniwa. Both bear compass patterns on the front. The report dates it to the early 5th century and notes it as predating Idera Tumulus.

First find in the prefecture
Compass patterns on the front
Early 5th century (report)

03 ／ Rokka Lion Dance

A lion climbs a ladder of about 20m,and peony petals fall like a dance.

Offered at the autumn festival of Rokka Shrine (六嘉神社), it is a prefectural Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Said to originate from Kato Kiyomasa's tiger hunt, the vigorous lion dance ends with the 'Tana-nobori' climb, from which peonies scatter.

Prefectural intangible folk property
Ladder about 20m high
Said to originate from a tiger hunt

Living here

A flat town ringed by four rivers.

about 10,000 people
Rural district town

Most of the town is flat paddy land, ringed by four rivers: the Yagata, Mifune, Midori and Kase. Ōshima and Rokka villages merged in 1955 to form Kashima village, which became a town in 1969. The birthplace of Matsumae Shigeyoshi, which once stood by the Midori River, was moved in 1988 and became a memorial hall.

People living here: 9,547people
Area: 16.65km²
Households: 3,495households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 12 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —1 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.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Kashima Town in Japan32.740°N 130.757°E

to KumamotoLocal bus53min

Travel times follow 熊本バス公式の路線バス時刻検索（https://www.kuma-bus.co.jp/bustime/ の API。timetable=271 を 2026-10-03 に取得。美里町の scout が『令和8年10月1日から』の表と読んだものと同じ timetable）。桜町バスターミナル発→嘉島町役場前着の乗り換えなし（K2-1『桜町バスターミナル→県庁→健軍→嘉島町役場前→イオン熊本』・K2-3『同→城南』）：平日 7:35→8:33（58分）・8:35→9:33（58分）・11:30→12:23（53分）・13:05→13:58（53分）・18:20→19:25（65分）・17:02→18:07（65分・K2-3 城南行）。土曜 7:40→8:28（48分）・17:45→18:39（54分）。日祝 9:00→9:53（53分）・18:20→19:13（53分）。逆向き（嘉島町役場前発→桜町バスターミナル着）は平日 6:27→7:22（55分）・7:13→8:21（68分）・17:38→18:48（70分）・12:25→13:19（54分・K2-3）、土曜 6:51→7:45（54分）・8:35→9:29（54分）・14:08→15:02（54分）・17:38→18:47（69分）、日祝 8:53→9:47（54分）・17:28→18:27（59分） (checked 2026-10-03). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Territory of Kashima Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

4.0km

熊本市, 御船町, 益城町

Kashima Town isthis kind of town.

01Kai Shrine (甲斐神社) is popularly known as Ashite Kojin (足手荒神). Writing your name on a wooden mold of an ailing hand or foot and offering it is said to bring benefits; the shrine enshrines two Kai family lords of Mifune Castle (御船城).
02At Ukishima in Idera (井寺), Ukishima Kumanomasu Shrine (浮島熊野座神社) stands on a spit reaching into a pond, named for how it looks as if floating on the water. Rokka Shrine hosts a lion dance designated a prefectural Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
03An enclosure haniwa, the first found in the prefecture, came from the ditch of a Jōkanzuka tomb, and Idera Tumulus (井寺古墳) is the tomb that led to the name chokkomon (直弧文) for patterns combining straight and curved lines.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kashima Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗