Japan Heritage story
Hinenosho: a medieval estate next to Kansai Airport
旅引付と二枚の絵図が伝えるまち
Izumisano, home of Kansai International Airport, was the medieval estate of Hinenosho. Two maps from 1309 and a noble's diary from 1501 describe ponds, channels, shrines and village life that you can still find in the countryside today.
Key facts
- Theme
- Castles, Festivals and rituals
- Era
- Kamakura
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 旅引付と二枚の絵図が伝えるまち
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ―中世日根荘の風景―
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 大阪府（泉佐野市）
The story
About 800 years ago, the land of today's Izumisano belonged to the Kujo family, one of the highest noble houses. To open up the wild land, they dug the Igawa channel, about 2.75 km long with a fall of only about 5 m, and built irrigation ponds. Two maps drawn in 1309 show the channels, ponds and shrines, and they match the landscape surprisingly closely today.
From 1501, the lord Kujo Masamoto lived here for four years and kept a diary. He wrote of villagers praying for rain at Hibashiri Shrine and praised their Noh and dances as equal to anything in the capital. Many of the places he wrote about, from the shrines to the farmland of the Ohgi district, are still there.
What to see
- Hine Shrine and Jigen-in: a shrine and temple side by side on the Igawa channel; Jigen-in's 750-year-old pagoda is counted among Japan's three finest.Google Maps 慈眼院 泉佐野 (opens in a new tab)
- Ohgi farm landscape: farmland and villages much as the 1501 diary describes.Google Maps 大木 泉佐野市 (opens in a new tab)
- Hibashiri Shrine: where villagers prayed for rain and performed Noh.Google Maps 火走神社 (opens in a new tab)
- Inunakisan Shippo Ryuji: a mountain temple of shugendo ascetics with a hot spring village nearby, rare in Osaka.Google Maps 犬鳴山七宝瀧寺 (opens in a new tab)
- Tsuchimaru-Amayama castle ruins: a hiking trail with views over the old estate to the airport on the sea.Google Maps 土丸城跡 (opens in a new tab)
Plan your trip with the Osaka prefecture guide and see more history and heritage.
Good to know
- Hinenosho is in Izumisano, the same city as Kansai Airport, so it is handy before or after a flight.
- Hike to the Tsuchimaru-Amayama castle ruins for the contrast of medieval fields and a modern airport.
- Soak in the Inunakisan hot spring after visiting the mountain temple.
Questions travellers ask
What was Hinenosho?
A medieval estate of the noble Kujo family, founded in 1234, covering today's Izumisano in Osaka.
What is the Tabibikitsuke?
The diary of Kujo Masamoto, who lived on the estate from 1501 for four years and recorded village life, festivals and performances.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Kamenose: crossing the landslide heart of the Tatsuta Kodo
- Katsuragi Shugen: where mountain asceticism began
- Kawachinagano: a town where the Middle Ages live on
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Nyonin Koya: the temples where women prayed instead of Mount Koya
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Takenouchi Kaido and Yokooji: Japan's oldest national road
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.