Taketa City

Water rises, then divides in a circle.

Otonashi-iro circular divider

Photo by Tsutsui Mizuki (Public domain)

01 ／ Oka Castle

Along the main approach,stones unlike any other castle's line the wall.

The 'kamaboko stones' (かまぼこ石) lining the stone wall along the main approach are a feature seen at no other castle. Oka Castle (岡城跡) is said to have been built in 1185 to welcome Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Its buildings were lost under the 1874 abolition-of-castles decree, and only the stone walls remain today.

A feature seen at no other castle
1185: said to have been built
1874: buildings demolished by decree

02 ／ Taki Rentaro's Former Residence

From age 12 to 14,he lived in the county chief's residence.

Taki Rentaro (瀧廉太郎), who later composed 'Kojo no Tsuki' (荒城の月, Moon Over the Ruined Castle), moved to Taketa with his family in December 1891, when his father became chief of Naoiri County (直入郡). They lived in a former samurai residence used as the county chief's official house. Rentaro spent two and a half years here, from age 12 until he left for Tokyo in May 1894. The house is now a memorial museum, displaying his letters, photos, and handwritten scores.

1891: moved to Taketa, age 12
1894: left for Tokyo, age 14
Former residence: county chief's house

03 ／ Himedaruma Dolls

For three generations of wives,one family alone has kept making them.

Himedaruma (姫だるま) dolls are said to be modeled on Ayame (綾女), wife of a low-ranking Oka domain (岡藩) samurai named Saika. Made by layering paper eight times over a wooden mold, they are charms for good fortune. The craft reportedly died out after the war, but around 1952 the Goto family's predecessor revived it, and the wives of the Goto family have kept making them ever since.

1972: city intangible folk property
~1952: revived by the Goto family
8 sizes, 8-20cm

Living here

Local farmers still tend the canals.

about 20,000 people

The Taketa Irrigation Canals (竹田のかんがい用水群) comprise 21 facilities dating to the Edo period. Land improvement districts and local farmers still maintain them, day to day.

People living here: 20,332people
Area: 477.53km²
Households: 8,699households
Rent (average for rentals): 33,506yen
Healthcare: 3 hospitals ／ 25 clinics

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

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2005-04-01 に新設合併（荻町・久住町・直入町）。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —8 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 8 municipalities across 2 prefectures.

Taketa City in Japan32.974°N 131.398°E

Territory of Taketa City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

36.2km

Oita Prefecture: 豊後大野市, 由布市, 大分市, 九重町
Kumamoto Prefecture: 産山村, 高森町, 阿蘇市
Miyazaki Prefecture: 高千穂町

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

Taketa City isthis kind of town.

01The Otonashi-iro No. 12 Water Divider (音無井路十二号分水), a circular device, was built in 1934 to end a local dispute over water. In 2025 it became one of 21 facilities recognized as a World Irrigation Heritage site under the name Taketa Irrigation Canals (竹田のかんがい用水群); the Hakusui Reservoir Weir (白水溜池堰堤), a National Important Cultural Property, is also part of the network.
02Oka Castle (岡城跡) is said to have been built in 1185 to welcome Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Its buildings were demolished under the 1874 abolition-of-castles decree, but along the main approach, its walls still carry 'kamaboko stones' (かまぼこ石) seen at no other castle. Lord Shiga Chikatsugu (志賀親次) was Christian, and a cave thought to be a chapel from his time also survives in the city.
03Taki Rentaro (瀧廉太郎), composer of 'Kojo no Tsuki,' spent ages 12 to 14 in Taketa's county chief's residence. The Goto family still makes Himedaruma dolls, passed down through generations of wives.

See the town as it is now.

X@taketa_koho ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Taketa City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗