Hagi

萩市はぎしHagi-shi

The castle town where the Meiji Restoration began

Hagi is a small former castle town on the Sea of Japan coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture, seat of the Mōri lords of the Chōshū domain from 1604 to 1863. Its preserved samurai and merchant quarters, the Shōka Sonjuku school and five World Heritage industrial sites recall its role in the Meiji Restoration.

Overview

Hagi was built on a delta island between the two branches of the Abu River where they meet the Sea of Japan, with the castle at the foot of Mount Shizuki on the seaward side. Isolated by mountains from the Inland Sea, it remained a small town after the Mōri moved their government to Yamaguchi in 1863, and the Edo-period street plan has survived almost unchanged.

The town is closely associated with the Meiji Restoration. At the Shōka Sonjuku, a tiny private school, Yoshida Shōin taught Takasugi Shinsaku, Itō Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo and others who went on to overthrow the shogunate and lead modern Japan. The birthplaces of Kido Takayoshi and Takasugi stand in the old town, and the school, the castle town, a reverberatory furnace, a shipyard and an iron works are part of the World Heritage Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution.

Hagi is also one of Japan's great pottery towns. Hagi-yaki, first made by Korean potters brought to Chōshū after Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea, is prized for tea bowls whose soft glazes change colour with use. Earthen walls in the samurai quarter are overhung with the natsumikan trees planted by impoverished samurai families in the Meiji era.

Landmarks

Hagi Castle ruins
萩城跡Hagi-jō ato
Stone walls and moats in Shizuki Park at the foot of the hill, part of the World Heritage castle-town component.
Shōka Sonjuku
松下村塾Shōka Sonjuku
The small wooden schoolhouse of Yoshida Shōin, in the grounds of Shōin Shrine; a World Heritage component.
Hagi Reverberatory Furnace
萩反射炉Hagi hansharo
The surviving chimney of an experimental furnace of 1856 for casting iron cannon.
Horiuchi and Jōkamachi
堀内・城下町Horiuchi, Jōkamachi
Samurai residences and merchant houses with earthen walls and orchards, including the Kikuya house and the birthplaces of Kido and Takasugi.
Tōkō-ji
東光寺Tōkō-ji
Ōbaku Zen family temple of the Mōri, with the lords' graves lined by about 500 stone lanterns.
Kasayama
笠山Kasayama
A 112-metre dormant volcano on the coast, often called one of the smallest volcanoes in Japan, with a crater and camellia grove.
Hagi Uragami Museum
山口県立萩美術館・浦上記念館Yamaguchi Kenritsu Hagi Bijutsukan, Uragami Kinenkan
Ukiyo-e prints and East Asian ceramics, including Hagi-yaki.
Ebisugahana Shipyard
恵美須ヶ鼻造船所跡Ebisugahana zōsenjo ato
The site where Chōshū built its first Western-style ships in the 1850s; a World Heritage component.

Districts

Horiuchi
堀内Horiuchi
The inner samurai quarter between the castle and the town, an Important Preservation District.
Jōkamachi
城下町Jōkamachi
The merchant and middle-samurai streets of Edoya-yokochō, Iseya-yokochō and Kikuya-yokochō.
Hamasaki
浜崎Hamasaki
The old port district of merchant houses and storehouses, an Important Preservation District.
Matsumoto
松本Matsumoto
East of the delta, with Shōin Shrine, Tōkō-ji and several pottery kilns.

History

After their defeat at Sekigahara, the Mōri were reduced to the provinces of Suō and Nagato and chose Hagi for their new castle, begun in 1604. The castle town grew into one of the largest in western Japan. In the 1850s the domain experimented with Western technology, building a reverberatory furnace and a shipyard, while Yoshida Shōin's school trained a generation of reformers.

The domain government moved to Yamaguchi in 1863, and the castle was dismantled in 1874. In 1876 Maebara Issei led the Hagi Rebellion against the new government. Hagi became a city in 1932 and merged with seven surrounding towns and villages in 2005. The Horiuchi samurai district and the Hamasaki port district are preserved as groups of traditional buildings.

1604
Mōri Terumoto begins building Hagi Castle at the foot of Mount Shizuki.
c. 1604
Korean potters Ri Shakkō and Ri Kei found the Hagi-yaki tradition under Mōri patronage.
1856
Chōshū builds an experimental reverberatory furnace for casting cannon.
1857
Yoshida Shōin takes charge of the Shōka Sonjuku.
1863
The domain government moves from Hagi to Yamaguchi.
1874
Hagi Castle's buildings are demolished.
1876
Maebara Issei leads the Hagi Rebellion of former samurai.
1932
Hagi is incorporated as a city.
2015
Five Hagi sites are inscribed as part of the Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution.

Culture

Hagi's identity rests on two pillars: the Restoration heroes, remembered in museums, shrines and preserved houses, and Hagi-yaki, produced by kilns whose families trace their lineage to the domain's official potters. The old saying "first Raku, second Hagi, third Karatsu" ranks Hagi among the most prized tea wares. The town's earthen walls and orange-laden natsumikan trees give its streets a distinctive character.

Festivals

Hagi-yaki Festival
萩焼まつりHagi-yaki Matsuri
A pottery fair in early May at which many kilns sell their work.
Hagi Jidai Festival
萩時代まつりHagi Jidai Matsuri
An autumn procession in which residents dressed as the daimyō's retinue march through the castle town.
Hagi Hina Dolls
萩のお雛まつりHagi no ohina matsuri
In late winter and early spring, old houses and shops display their historic hina dolls.

Food

Sea of Japan fish
萩の魚Hagi no sakana
Tilefish, squid and other catches of the Hagi fishing port, served as sashimi and grilled.
Shirouo no odorigui
白魚の踊り食いShirouo no odorigui
Tiny live ice gobies swallowed with vinegar-soy sauce, a spring custom on the Matsumoto River.
Natsumikan sweets
夏みかん菓子Natsumikan-gashi
Candied peel and jellies made from Hagi's summer citrus.
Kenchō
けんちょうKenchō
A simmered dish of tofu and daikon, a home staple of the region.

Getting around

Express buses connect Shin-Yamaguchi Station on the San'yō Shinkansen with Hagi in about an hour and a half.
Higashi-Hagi and Hagi stations lie on the JR San'in Line, which has infrequent local services along the coast.
Loop buses and rental bicycles link the scattered sights; the flat delta is well suited to cycling.
Hagi-Iwami Airport in Masuda, Shimane, is about an hour away by car or connecting bus.

Day trips

Tsuwano
津和野Tsuwano
The Little Kyoto of San'in across the Shimane border, reached by bus.
Akiyoshidai
秋吉台Akiyoshidai
The karst plateau and Akiyoshi-dō cave to the south.
Yamaguchi
山口Yamaguchi
The Ōuchi capital with the Rurikō-ji pagoda.
Nagato and Senzaki
長門・仙崎Nagato, Senzaki
Ōmijima's sea cliffs, Motonosumi Shrine, Nagato-Yumoto Onsen and the Kaneko Misuzu museum to the west.

Other cities in the prefecture

CapitalYamaguchiYamaguchi-shiThe Ōuchi capital, the Kyoto of the West CityIwakuniIwakuni-shiFive wooden arches over a clear river Core cityShimonosekiShimonoseki-shiThe gateway between Honshu and Kyushu

Frequently asked questions

Which Hagi sites are World Heritage?

Five components of the Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: the Hagi castle town, the Shōka Sonjuku, the reverberatory furnace, the Ebisugahana shipyard and the Ōitayama tatara iron works.

How do you get to Hagi?

Most visitors take the express bus from Shin-Yamaguchi on the Shinkansen, about an hour and a half; trains on the San'in Line are slow and infrequent.

Can you visit Hagi-yaki kilns?

Yes. Many kilns in the Matsumoto area and around the castle town have showrooms, and some offer pottery-making experiences.

Why are there so many natsumikan trees in Hagi?

After the Meiji Restoration, samurai families who had lost their stipends planted the citrus in their gardens as a cash crop.

Sources

1.萩市ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 萩市
2.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — Statistics Bureau of Japan
3.Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution (opens in a new tab) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre
4.重要伝統的建造物群保存地区一覧 (opens in a new tab) — 文化庁