Hirao Town

Bones taken for a man's were a woman's

Jingayama Kofun

Photo by Saigen Jiro (CC0)

01 ／ Horikawa Nanbanhi (堀川南蛮樋)

A gate to drain the reclaimed landused the latest Dutch technology of its day.

The Ono-Mori clan's Hirao reclamation blocked the sea with embankments and created 140 hectares of new land. The sluice that drained its rainwater raised and lowered its cover with a rope and an iron handle, and was called a nanbanhi. The Horikawa Nanbanhi was moved to Horikawa Park and is a town-designated Cultural Property.

Hirao reclamation: 140 hectares of new land (town)
Horikawa Nanbanhi: town-designated Cultural Property (March 10, 1995)
Moved to Horikawa Park

02 ／ The Legend of Princess Hannya and Hannya-ji Temple

A temple is said to mourn the princesswho threw herself into the storm at Ohata-nada.

Princess Hannya, said to have been 19 in 597, is remembered as having thrown herself into the sea to calm a storm at Ohata-nada while traveling from Bungo to the capital. Hannya-ji is said to have been founded by imperial order of Emperor Yomei to mourn her, and ships in the Ohata Strait, called the "West Gate of the Dragon Palace," are said to have turned their bows toward the temple in prayer.

Princess Hannya said to have been 19 in 597 (town)
Hannya-ji founded by order of Emperor Yomei (town)
Bronze bell: prefectural Cultural Property (said to have been cast in 1255)

03 ／ Shiratori Kofun

From a tomb on a hill reaching the sea,mirrors said to be from the Kinai came out.

This keyhole-shaped tomb, 120 meters long with a rear circle 64 meters across, stands on a hill that reaches out to the sea. It was found in the Edo period while the Shiratori Shrine was being built, and yielded two mirrors, both thought to have been distributed from the Kinai region.

120 m long, 64 m rear circle, 8 m high
Two mirrors unearthed: a four-gods-four-beasts mirror and a two-gods-two-beasts mirror
About 8,000 square meters, moat included, is a prefectural Historic Site

Living here

A calm coastline runs for 18.2 kilometers.

about 10,000 people
Rural district town

Hirao lies in southeastern Yamaguchi, west of the Murotsu Peninsula. It is made up of the hills around Mt. Ohoshi (438 meters) and Mt. Miyama (400 meters), and the Hirao plain, and Sagojima island belongs to the town. Its coastline is part of Setonaikai National Park, and the climate is the dry Seto Inland Sea type. The town promotes an Italy-themed town-building effort called "Italiano Hirao." From Yanai Station, a Bocho Kotsu local bus reaches the Hirao stop in 13 minutes.

People living here: 11,914people
Area: 34.54km²
Households: 4,848households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 8 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —3 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.

Hirao Town in Japan33.938°N 132.073°E

to YanaiLocal bus13min

Travel times follow 防長交通の時刻表『柳井・平生・上関・田布施・光地区』（2026年4月1日変更 https://www.bochobus.co.jp/files/libs/8437/202603191304555103.pdf。2026年10月1日変更 https://www.bochobus.co.jp/files/libs/8593/202609180944524750.pdf 。どちらも柳井駅前①→平生②の時刻は同じ）。『柳井駅前～平生～室積～光～下松～徳山駅前』の平日：柳井駅前① 6:00→平生② 6:13、7:05→7:18、8:03→8:16、9:10→9:23、10:50→11:03、12:15→12:28、13:35→13:48、15:55→16:08、17:22→17:35、19:10→19:23（いずれも13分）。土日祝：柳井駅前① 6:05→平生② 6:18、7:10→7:23、8:03→8:16、10:50→11:03、12:15→12:28、13:35→13:48、16:00→16:13、17:22→17:35（いずれも13分）。『柳井駅前～平生～佐賀～上関』の平日：柳井駅前① 7:26→平生③ 7:39、8:22→8:35（13分）。町公式『平生町役場へのアクセス』の『JR柳井駅からバスで約20分／平生バス停下車、徒歩2分～4分』と、町公式プロモーションサイトの『約30分』は使わない（本体の決め 2026-09-29） (checked 2026-09-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Territory of Hirao Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

11.1km

柳井市, 田布施町, 上関町

Hirao Town isthis kind of town.

01Jingayama Kofun in Hirao is a keyhole-shaped tomb on a 39-meter hill facing Hirao Bay, estimated to date from the first half of the 5th century. The bones found in its stone coffin in 1944 were first thought to be a man's in his prime, but the skull was later found to be a woman's, and the tomb is a prefectural Historic Site.
02The Horikawa Nanbanhi, one of the sluices that drained rainwater from the Ono-Mori clan's reclaimed land, stands in Horikawa Park. Hannya-ji is a temple for Princess Hannya, said to have thrown herself into the sea at Ohata-nada.
03Shiratori Kofun is a 120-meter keyhole-shaped tomb that yielded mirrors said to have been distributed from the Kinai region. The coastline of this 34.54-square-kilometer town is part of Setonaikai National Park.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Hirao Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗