Japan Heritage story
Hitoyoshi-Kuma: 700 years under one clan
相良700年が生んだ保守と進取の文化
One family, the Sagara, ruled the mountain basin of Hitoyoshi-Kuma for about 700 years. Lords and villagers built a culture together that kept the old and took in the new, and the writer Shiba Ryotaro called it Japan's richest hidden village.
Key facts
- Theme
- Castles, Festivals and rituals, Food and sake
- Era
- Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama, Edo
- Region
- Chubu, Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 相良700年が生んだ保守と進取の文化
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～日本でもっとも豊かな隠れ里-人吉球磨～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 熊本県（人吉市，錦町，あさぎり町，多良木町，湯前町，水上村，相良村，五木村，山江村，球磨村）
The story
About 800 years ago the Sagara family arrived from today's Shizuoka on the orders of the shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo. Steep mountains kept enemies out, and the family ruled until the Meiji Restoration, a rare 700 years. To win over a proud local population, the lords kept the shrines and Buddhas of earlier rulers, allowed people to brew rice shochu and play drinking games, and built elegant thatched shrines that villagers then cared for themselves.
What to see
- Thatched shrines and temples: rare elsewhere in Japan, still a normal sight here.
- Old Buddhist statues: many predate the Sagara and can be seen much as they were.
- Hitoyoshi Castle ruins: the stone walls are visible from the hot-spring inns along the Kuma River.Google Maps 人吉城跡 (opens in a new tab)
- Kuma shochu: rice shochu with centuries of history, now known worldwide.
- Kuma kagura and the Okunchi festival: rites that villagers have kept for generations.
Plan your trip with the Kumamoto prefecture guide. More castles and hot springs across Japan.
Good to know
- Stay at a riverside onsen inn in Hitoyoshi for the view of the castle walls.
- Try Kuma shochu at a local brewery, and drink responsibly if you are driving between villages.
- Ask about kuma-ken, a local hand game played over drinks; Taragi even holds a world championship.
Questions travellers ask
Who were the Sagara?
A samurai family that ruled the Hitoyoshi-Kuma area of Kumamoto for about 700 years, from the Kamakura period until the Meiji Restoration.
What is Kuma shochu?
A rice shochu made in the Kuma area for several hundred years. The Sagara lords allowed it even though rice was precious.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Hakone Hachiri: walking the Edo stone road over Hakone
- Oyama Mairi: the Edo people's pilgrimage and day out
- The Kikuchi River: 2,000 years of rice farming
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
- Yaji and Kita's Tokaido: Japan's first travel boom in Shizuoka
- Yatsushiro's stonemasons: the bridge builders of Japan
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.