Ashiya, Japan

History

The area of Ashiya was part of ancient Chikuzen Province. Shell middens left by the Jomon people are scattered around the midstream to the mouth of the ancient Onga River, and among these shell middens, one known as the Yamaga Shell Midden is particularly famous nationwide. In the late Yayoi period, the area was called "Oka no Tsu" and was famous as one of the three major military ports, along with Toyotsu and Usa. At that time, it was a deep and vast bay, but due to the accumulation of earth and sand from the Onga River over the years and land reclamation, there is no trace of what it once was. The name "Ashiya" appears in mid-Heian period documents. In 1185, it was the site of the Battle of Ashiyaura in the Genpei War. In the Kamakura period, the port was regards as equal to that of Shimonoseki. From the Edo period, it prospered as a post town on the highway to Karatsu and was under the control of Fukuoka Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the village of Ashiya was established on May 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on June 10, 1891. However, railway lines bypassed the area (due to its proximity to the Korean Peninsula and the Sea of Japan, construction was avoided from a defense perspective), and the area gradually became isolated.

From the History section of Ashiya, Fukuoka on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.