Kumamoto Prefecture Specialties, Souvenirs, Shrines and Temples, and Sightseeing | 47 Prefectures Guide

Kumamoto is a prefecture of Aso’s caldera and the water that flows from it. The volcano itself has become the condition for industry.

Specialties

Rush grass grown domestically is said to come almost entirely from Kumamoto Prefecture. It is especially concentrated around Yatsushiro City.

Rush grass is the material used for the surface of tatami mats. As demand for tatami has declined, this production area has been forced to make a major transition. Today, efforts continue to expand into tatami mats, small goods, edible rush grass, and other products. The problem faced by most traditional industries can be seen clearly here.

Horse sashimi (Japan’s highest production volume of horse meat), tomatoes, Kumamoto Akaushi beef, Kuma shochu, and sea bream from Amakusa.

Souvenirs

Ikinari dango is a steamed sweet made by wrapping sliced sweet potato and red bean paste in dough. Its name is said to come either from “it can be made right away,” or from a Kumamoto dialect phrase meaning “something you can serve to unexpected guests.”

Karashi renkon mustard-stuffed lotus root, and Shodai ware vessels.

Shrines and Temples

Aso Shrine (Aso City) is the head shrine of the roughly 500 Aso shrines said to exist across Japan. in total.

In the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, the Important Cultural Property tower gate and worship hall collapsed. The fallen components were numbered and collected one by one, and those that could still be used were returned to their original positions. The restoration of the tower gate was completed in 2023. Rather than rebuilding, the same materials were put back. The idea of “repairing and preserving,” which we have seen many times in this series, is being carried out in real time.

Aso Shrine’s Onda Festival is a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, a ritual expression of the annual cycle of rice cultivation. in total.

Aoi Aso Shrine (Hitoyoshi City) has a main hall, corridor, tower gate, and other structures designated as National Treasures. It is rare for a thatched-roof shrine building to be designated a National Treasure. The torii gate of Heitate Shrine in Yamato Town, with the mountains of Aso lined up beyond it.

Sightseeing

The Aso caldera is, is one of the largest in the world, measuring about 25 kilometers north to south and about 18 kilometers east to west, with towns and rice fields inside it. A caldera where people live is rare even globally.

Kumamoto Castle, where restoration work after the earthquake is still ongoing, Kurokawa Onsen, and Amakusa.

Traditional Crafts

Nationally designated items are Shodai ware, Yamaga lanterns, Amakusa ceramics, and Higo inlay, making four items in all.

Higo inlay is a technique in which gold or silver is hammered into an iron base to create patterns.. It was originally used to decorate firearms and sword guards. Ornamentation for arms became accessories in an age of peace. It is the same kind of transformation seen with Hikone Buddhist altars.

For details, see 【VILLAGE Report vol.5】Hammering gold into iron

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References: Kumamoto Prefecture, Kumamoto City, Aso City, Yatsushiro City, Hitoyoshi City, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries — Value Village Editorial Team