Tazen Sho Kozaki's Rural Landscape

Overview

Tazen Sho Kozaki's rural landscape is located in the Tazen district in the southwestern part of the Kunisaki Peninsula. It preserves the remains related to Tazen Sho, one of the fundamental manors of Usa Jingu Shrine, and the excellent Buddhist culture of Rokugo Manzan. The Tazen Kozaki district is known to have been the center of Tazen Sho, with the remains of the manor lord Tazen's residence. From the "Yuhi Iwaya," a training ground for monks, you can overlook the beautiful old-style rice paddies with their gentle curves and the Daizono settlement, where numerous Kamakura-era house sites have been identified. This view can be compared to a village map said to have been drawn around the Genroku era, confirming that it has remained almost unchanged for hundreds of years. In the gently sloping rice paddies of Tazen Sho Kozaki, irrigation practices dating back to the manor era are still in use today. Many "ize" (weirs) utilizing bedrock and large rocks, and "ize" named after place names appearing in medieval documents, remain. Also, unlike modern rice paddies, many paddies here employ "tagoe kankai" irrigation, drawing water in and out by cutting the ridges rather than using drainage ditches. The Daizono settlement also preserves scenes reminiscent of Tazen Kozaki during the manor era. House site names appearing in the Kamakura-era document "Shami Myokaku Denpaku Hai Bunjo" remain as house names today, and the layout of the house sites shows little change when compared to the village map. Around Genshuji Temple, believed to be the site of the manor lord Tazen's residence, there are earthen ramparts and stone walls believed to have been built during the Sengoku period. The area additionally selected in 2016 features a satoyama (village forest) landscape. While most rice cultivation has ceased in the rice paddies of the area known as the inner part of Tazen Sho Kozaki, this level ground is precious in the steep, narrow valleys of the inner area and has been transformed into knuugi (Quercus acutissima) forests and shiitake mushroom cultivation sites. These knuugi forests and cultivation sites also contribute to water retention in the valleys, which lack water resources, and circulate with the beautiful rice paddies, supporting the Tazen Sho Kozaki rural landscape.