Itano Town

A statue of Aikyu-san is enshrined.

Aizen-an, Inubushi Kyusuke

Photo by Araiyasushige (CC0)

01 ／ Konsen-ji boundary

By an old map and a domain ruling, the boundarybetween Bando and Banzai ran south from the Deva Gate.

Itano District is thought to have split into east and west, Bando and Banzai, before the early Kamakura period. According to an old map kept at Konsen-ji Temple (金泉寺) and a 1709 ruling of the Tokushima Domain, the boundary was the road running south from its Deva Gate. The village name Odera is said to derive from the temple.

1709 ruling of the Tokushima Domain
The district is thought to have split before the early Kamakura period
Konsen-ji is a town-designated historic site (Feb. 1, 1974)

02 ／ Jizo-ji Five Hundred Rakan Hall

The hall with rakan statues along its corridorwas rebuilt in 1922.

It is the inner sanctuary on high ground north of Jizo-ji Temple (地蔵寺), affectionately known locally as "Rakan-san." Two brother monks, Jitsumon and Jitsumyo, founded it in 1775 (Anei 4); the present hall is a 1922 rebuilding. Halls for Shaka, Daishi and Miroku face one another, joined by a corridor.

Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registered Jan. 26, 2011
Wooden single-story, 674 m² floor area (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
Founded in 1775 (Town Overview 2025)

03 ／ Aizen-in mausoleum

The mausoleum of the Banzai Castle lord is said to standin the temple of the Fudo he revered.

It lies in the grounds of Aizen-in (愛染院), the inner sanctuary of Konsen-ji, in Nato. The town designates the mausoleum of Akazawa Shinano-no-kami, 42 graves of Banzai Castle soldiers, and the castle site in Furushiro as historic sites. The mausoleum is said to have been built because he revered the temple's Fudo Myoo.

Mausoleum of Akazawa Shinano-no-kami: town-designated historic site (Feb. 1, 1974)
42 graves of Banzai Castle soldiers (Nato Oaza Inai)
Banzai Castle site (Furushiro): town-designated historic site (Mar. 31, 1955)

Living here

152 minutes to Osaka by highway bus,96 to Sannomiya.

about 10,000 people
Rural district town

A town of 36.22 square kilometers, with the Asan Mountains to the north and the Yoshino River plain to the south. Highway buses leave from the Michi-no-Eki Itano roadside station; on Shikoku Kotsu's timetable it is 152 minutes to Osaka Umeda and 96 to Kobe Sannomiya (the Osaka line runs only Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays). Itano Station on the JR Kotoku Line is in the town.

People living here: 13,042people
Area: 36.22km²
Households: 5,054households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 10 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —2 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.

Itano Town in Japan34.144°N 134.463°E

to OsakaHighway bus152min
to SannomiyaHighway bus96min

Travel times follow 四国交通の高速バス。大阪線（https://yonkoh.co.jp/highwaybus/osaka-6-1 ・『2026年1月20日より金・土・日・祝日のみ運行』の表）と神戸線（https://yonkoh.co.jp/koube-01 ・『2026年4月16日にダイヤ改正を実施』の表、運行便のみ掲載）の時刻表で、市町内の停留所『道の駅いたの』（町の道の駅。高速道路上ではない）の発着から分数を出した。町公式の町勢要覧2025（p.26『板野町へのアクセス』）も『高速バス大阪約2時間30分・神戸三宮約1時間40分』と書き、事業者の時刻表と合う (checked 2026-09-30). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Itano Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

8.7km

Tokushima Prefecture: 鳴門市, 上板町, 藍住町
Kagawa Prefecture: 東かがわ市

Itano Town isthis kind of town.

01Aizen-an is in Matsutani, Itano. It enshrines the wooden statue of Inubushi Kyusuke, born to an indigo farmer, who succeeded in improving indigo-dye manufacture in 1781. Known affectionately as "Aikyu-san," he improved the method, and Awa's dye, whose quality rose, became known as "true indigo."
02Konsen-ji is the temple where the Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei says the Bando–Banzai boundary ran along the road south of the Deva Gate. Jizo-ji's Five Hundred Rakan Hall, a registered cultural property, was rebuilt in 1922, and Aizen-in holds the mausoleum of Akazawa Shinano-no-kami, lord of Banzai Castle.
03The town has Temples 3 to 5 of the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage (Konsen-ji, Dainichi-ji, Jizo-ji), and also Jogamaru Pond, chosen by the Ministry of the Environment as an Important Wetland of Japan, and the Okanomiya Great Camphor Tree, a prefectural Natural Monument.

See the town as it is now.

Instagram@itano_town_official ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Itano Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗