Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Dazaifu in 2020 is 73,164 people.

History

The area of Dazaifu was part of ancient Chikuzen Province and was the capital of ancient Tsukushi Province in the Kofun period. A fortified site that was the imperial office governing Kyūshū (corresponding to Tagajō in Tōhoku) was established in 663 AD, and the name "Dazaifu" first appears in the Nihon Shoki in 671 AD. According to the Taiho Code of 701, an attempt by the Yamato Kingdom to exert further control over its territories, Dazaifu was given two principal administrative functions: to supervise the affairs of Tsukushi (present-day Kyushu) and to receive foreign emissaries. Dazaifu hosted foreign embassies from Tang China and Korea. Kōrokan, a guesthouse for foreign embassies, was also established. The Korokan featured in contemporary literature, such as the Man'yōshū, as a place of departure for ocean voyages. Government records indicate that the disastrous Japanese smallpox epidemic that took place from 735 to 737 first took hold in Dazaifu. From the Nara period through the Heian period and until the Kamakura period, Dazaifu was one of the military and administrative centers of Japan. In the Heian period, Dazaifu was a place of exile for high-ranking courtiers. Nobles exiled there include Sugawara no Michizane. His grave is at Dazaifu Tenman-gū. The government offices were burned down during the rebellion of Fujiwara no Sumitomo in 941 and with the decline of imperial authority, Dazaifu never regained its earlier prestige. By the Muromachi period the political center of Kyūshū was moved to Hakata. The Shōni were later expelled by the Ōuchi clan. In the Edo period, Dazaifu was part of Fukuoka Domain.

After the Meiji restoration, the village of Dazaifu was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Dazaifu was raised to town status on March 1, 1955, and to city status on April 1, 1982.

Government

Dazaifu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 18 members. Dazaifu contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Fukuoka 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Although mostly mountainous, Daizaifu does have arable land used for paddy fields and market gardening. However, tourism is the mainstay of the local economy, due to many historical sites. Dazaifu is also a "college town" with many students at its colleges and universities.

Education

Colleges and universities

  • Chikushi Jogakuen University
  • Fukuoka International University
  • Fukuoka University of Economics
  • Fukuoka Social Medical Welfare University
  • Fukuoka Junior College for Kindergarten Teachers
  • Fukuoka Women's Junior College
  • Aso Fukuoka Junior College (1989–1999)

Primary and secondary education

Dazaifu has seven public elementary schools and four public junior high schools and two public high schools operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private elementary, one private junior high and two private high schools.

Transportation

Railways

frameless|20x20px JR Kyushu - Kagoshima Main Line

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frameless|20x20px Nishitetsu - Tenjin Ōmuta Line

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frameless|20x20px Nishitetsu - Dazaifu Line

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Highways

  • 25px|link=|alt= Kyushu Expressway

Sister cities

  • Buyeo County, South Korea

Local attractions

thumb|right|Stone garden at Kōmyōzen-ji

thumb|Kyushu National Museum

thumb|View in front of Dazaifu Station

thumb|Kengo Kuma-designed Starbucks coffee shop

  • Kyushu National Museum opened on October 16, 2005. A wood and glass building in a hilly landscape, it hosts collections of Japanese artifacts related to the history of Kyūshū.
  • Dazaifu Tenmangū, famed Shinto shrine
  • Dazaifu Gakkōin Site, National Historic Site
  • Kōmyōzen-ji is a Zen temple famous for its stone garden. It was built during the Kamakura period just next to Dazaifu Tenmangū
  • Kanzeon-ji, was built in the 8th century. It was once the chief Buddhist temple on Kyūshū and houses a number of historical, artistic, and religious treasures.
  • Dazaifu (government) ruins, National Historic Site
  • Chikuzen Kokubun-ji ruins, National Historic Site
  • There is small museum about Sugawara no Michizane, who died in exile in Dazaifu in 903.

See also

  • Dazaifu (government)

Notes

References

  • Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 58053128
  • Dazaifu City official website
  • Dazaifu page of official Fukuoka Prefecture Tourism Association website
  • Kyushu National Museum official web site
  • English guidemap