Kusu Town

A roundhouse fans out around a turntable.

Former Bungo-Mori Roundhouse

Photo by そらみみ (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Kurushima Takehiko and the Japan Fairy Tale Festival

Called "Japan's Andersen,"he was born right here.

記念館１.jpg — Photo by 久留島武彦記念館 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Kurushima Takehiko (久留島武彦) was born in 1874 in Mori (now Kusu). A storyteller, he founded the Otogi Club (お伽倶楽部) and toured kindergartens and elementary schools. In Denmark in 1924, he was called "Japan's Andersen." After his death, the Japan Fairy Tale Festival (日本童話祭), begun in 1950, is still held every May 5.

1874: born in Mori (now Kusu)
1924: called "Japan's Andersen" in Denmark
1950-: Japan Fairy Tale Festival (every May 5)

02 ／ Mount Kirikabu

A giant felled a great camphor tree,and its stump became this mountain, it's said.

Mount Kirikabu (伐株山), 690m high, is a flat-topped mesa said to be Kusu's symbol. The Fudoki of Bungo (豊後国風土記) records that the district was named "Kuzu" (球珠郡) after a great camphor tree once standing here. Legend also tells that a giant felled the tree, and its stump became this mountain.

690m elevation (mesa landform)
Fudoki of Bungo: origin of the name "Kuzu"
Stump of a felled tree became the mountain, it's said

03 ／ Former Kurushima Residence Garden

The 8th lord built this garden in 1829.In 2012, it became a National Scenic Site.

森陣屋栖鳳楼.png — Photo by ムカイ (Public domain)

The Former Kurushima Residence Garden (旧久留島氏庭園) is a daimyo's garden on the site of the Mori Domain's residence. In 1829, the 8th lord Kurushima Michiyoshi (久留島通嘉) built three parts on the eastern slope of Mount Suehiro (末広山): the lord's residence garden, the Seihoro Pavilion garden, and the Shimizu Gate front garden. It became a National Scenic Site on January 24, 2012.

1829: built by the 8th lord, Kurushima Michiyoshi
Three garden areas
2012/1/24: National Scenic Site

Living here

On the 5th of the month, a night market lines the eaves.

about 10,000 people
Rural district town

The Kurushima Suigun Nokisaki-ichi (くるしま水軍軒先市), a night market that took its present name in 1987, is held from 7:00 to 9:30 pm on the 5th of each month from April to October (except May), along Honmachi Street (本町通り) in Mori. Residents set up handmade stalls, with a different event each month.

People living here: 14,386people
Area: 286.6km²
Households: 5,808households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 3 hospitals ／ 13 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —5 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 6 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Kusu Town in Japan33.283°N 131.151°E

Territory of Kusu Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

22.8km

Oita Prefecture: 九重町, 日田市, 中津市, 宇佐市, 由布市
Kumamoto Prefecture: 小国町

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

Kusu Town isthis kind of town.

01Completed in 1934, the Former Bungo-Mori Roundhouse (旧豊後森機関庫), by JR Bungo-Mori Station, is the only fan-shaped roundhouse still standing in Kyushu. In August 1945, it was strafed by U.S. aircraft, and bullet marks remain on its walls today.
02Kurushima Takehiko (久留島武彦), born in 1874 in Mori (now Kusu), was a storyteller who was called "Japan's Andersen" in Denmark in 1924. After his death, the Japan Fairy Tale Festival, begun in 1950, is still held every May 5.
03Mount Kirikabu (伐株山), 690m high, is Kusu's symbol, its stump said to be all that remains of a great camphor tree felled by a giant. The Former Kurushima Residence Garden, built in 1829 by the 8th lord Kurushima Michiyoshi, became a National Scenic Site in 2012.

See the town as it is now.

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kusu Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗