Koshi City

A moat ringed the castle town, too.

Takaba Castle outer moat remains

01 ／ Catalpa of Koshi Gijuku

A sapling of Niijima Jo's tree is said to have passed,via Tokutomi Soho, to a Koshi private school.

Koshi Gijuku (合志義塾) was a private school opened in 1892 in Kuromatsu, Nishigoshi Village; about 7,000 people studied there before it closed in 1949. The catalpa beside the monument at the site is said to descend from a sapling Niijima Jo (新島襄) brought back from the U.S., passed via Tokutomi Soho (徳富蘇峰) to Hirata Ichiju (平田一十), who opened the school.

Opened 1892, closed 1949
About 7,000 students
Niijima Jo -> Tokutomi Soho -> Hirata Ichiju (tradition)

02 ／ Takaba Hiyoshi Shrine's Gate and Kokutaiji Site

The gate of a shrine said to be founded in 1200is judged to date from Azuchi-Momoyama to Edo.

Takaba Hiyoshi Shrine is said to have been founded in 1200 by an ancestor of the Takaba clan, and its main hall is said to have been rebuilt in the Hoei era. Just southeast, a 2020 dig at the Kokutaiji (国泰寺) site found late Yayoi pit dwellings and 13th-14th century moats, suggesting it may have been part of the Takaba clan's residence.

Said to be founded 1200
Gate judged Azuchi-Momoyama to Edo (city-designated)
Kokutaiji site: late Yayoi pit dwellings

03 ／ Futagoyama Stone Tool Workshop Site

Across about 60 sites from the Shira to the Kikuchi,stone axes from this site are found.

On a hill about 70m high formed by the Koshi River are the remains of a workshop for chipped stone axes, from the late to final Jomon period. Flakes and unfinished pieces lie thick around the bedrock, andesite, while finished ones are few. Axes sourced here are confirmed at about 60 sites between the Shira and Kikuchi rivers.

National Historic Site (designated 1972)
Axes found at about 60 sites
Hill about 70m high

Living here

Two towns became one city in 2006.

about 60,000 people

Northeast of the prefectural capital Kumamoto, the city is convenient for commuting to work and school, and its population has grown. The Kumamoto Electric Railway's Kikuchi Line runs here; its terminus, Miyoshi Station, was once linked on to Kikuchi, until 1986.

People living here: 61,772people
Area: 53.19km²
Households: 22,283households
Rent (average for rentals): 51,384yen
Healthcare: 5 hospitals ／ 41 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —21 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 4 municipalities.

Koshi City in Japan32.886°N 130.790°E

Territory of Koshi City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

8.4km

菊陽町, 菊池市, 熊本市, 大津町

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

Koshi City isthis kind of town.

01The Takaba Castle outer moat remains (竹迫城惣構え跡) are what is left of the moat that ringed the castle town. Thought to have been built by the Koshi clan in the late Sengoku period, it spans about 1.7km east-west, 1.3km north-south and 5.9km around, and is drawn on an 1825 map of the castle.
02The catalpa at the Koshi Gijuku site is said to come from a sapling passed from Niijima Jo via Tokutomi Soho to Hirata Ichiju. The gate of Takaba Hiyoshi Shrine (竹迫日吉神社), the Kokutaiji dig and the nationally designated Futagoyama (二子山) workshop site tell of the city's early history.
03Also here are the Kofun-period Kokuryu stone coffin (石立石棺, Himetsuka), the Takaba Kannon Festival (竹迫観音祭), the Hirashima (平島) great drum hollowed from a single zelkova, and Mt. Benten (弁天山), where a heavenly maiden's message is said to have led to a shrine for Benzaiten.

See the town as it is now.

X@Koshi_city ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Koshi City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗