Sakuta no Unade Waterway
| Location | City of Nakagawa |
|---|---|
| Designation | Undesignated |
| Emblem |  |
An artificial waterway recorded in the Chronicles of Empress Jingu in the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) established in 720, this waterway takes water from the Naka River and runs along the foot of the mountain, and spans a total length of 5.5 km. Digging a waterway through a large, jutted-out plateau was a major civil engineering feat. Though it is unclear when the waterway was dug, it was certainly done before the Nara period, and was used thereafter to support the development of Tsukushi as a place of international exchange.
The waterway has been renovated continuously even after the Middle Ages, and even today scenes of the water flowing beside rice paddies are reminiscent of that past.
An Artificial Waterway Appearing in the Nihon Shoki
Sakuta no Unade waterway is described in Nihon Shoki and appears in the legend of Empress Jingu’s “Silla Conquest”. According to legend, “Empress Jingu, in an attempt to defeat those from the west herself, she tried to enshrine a god. She tried to make a rice paddy to make offerings for the god (Kanda, “God Paddy”) and dug a trench from the Naka River to draw water to this paddy, but when she reached Todorokinooka (currently Antokudai Hills), there was an enormous rock blocking the way. The Empress summoned Takenouchi no Sukune and offered a sword and mirror for him to pray to the gods, and as this happened, lightning struck and split the rock, allowing the waterway to pass through. For this reason, people call this waterway Sakuta no Unade (“Split Paddy Waterway”). Excavations have found granite bedrock where an enormous boulder is thought to have once stood to the east of Todoroki-no-Oka (currently Antokudai), and traces of the digging through this plateau made of large pyroclastic flow deposits from Mount Aso show how difficult construction was at the time.
Nakagawa City Characters/Saruta-kun
Promenades and parks have been established along Sakuta no Unade waterway, where many people come to jog, run, or stroll around while taking in the ancient atmosphere. The waterway dances with fireflies in summer, and if you are lucky you may even see kingfishers. The newly established Sakuta no Unade Park serves as your starting point for a walk around the cultural properties surrounding the waterway. There are some places where you can dip your feet in the water, which feels wonderful on a hot summer day.
Access Information
Address
Sakuta no Unade Park:811-1244 1-1 Yamada, Nakagawa, Fukuoka
By Train
About 55 min on foot from JR Hakata-Minami Station
By Car
Take National Route 385
About the Western Capital
The “Western Capital”, created in Tsukushi 1300 years ago. Cultural assets speaking to the magnificence of this city of international exchange that flourished in East Asia are scattered across the cities of Chikushino, Kasuga, Onojo, Dazaifu, Nakagawa, and Umi in Fukuoka Prefecture as well as the town of Kiyama in Saga Prefecture.