Fukuoka is a great place to live. That said, like any town, it does have some drawbacks. For me as a foreign resident of the city, it is the scarcity of traditional Japanese architecture. The only area in Fukuoka that still has a handful of fairly-well maintained machiya-style townhouses and temples and shrines all within a short walking distance of each other is Gokusho Machi (御供所町). Located less than ten-minutes’ walk from Hakata Station, you’ll find Japan’s oldest Zen Buddhist temple, Shofuku-ji (聖福寺) pictured here as well as Jōten-ji (承天寺), which claims to be the place where udon, soba, manjū, and, I believe, uiro were first introduced to Japan.
The best time to visit the area is in autumn when the maples of the temples are ablaze in color. Even then, it tends to be very quiet.
These photos were taken several years ago. For some reason, this year’s momiji were not as beautiful as in year’s past.
The name Gokusho (御供所) is a reference to the function the area used to have as a place (所) to purchase offerings (御供えもの, o-sonae-mono) to be made at Hakozaki-gū Shrine (箱崎宮) located just beyond from the Mikasa River.
From Wiki: 日本においては、神々に感謝・祈願し霊を鎮めるため神社などに供物を捧げる習慣が、古来から神道儀礼として定着しており、とりわけ稲作中心の農耕文化であったため、気象条件により年によっては凶作となった。そこで、新米など新しい五穀を供えてその年の収穫に感謝し、豊作を祈願する稲作儀礼がさかんに行なわれ、農耕に限らず、神社信仰においては、大漁、安産、地鎮祭、七五三詣などはもとより私的な細事に至るまで、日頃から供物を捧げて祈願する。神社などの儀礼施設に限らず、個人の居宅にも神棚を設けて、榊や灯明とともに神饌と呼ばれる供物を捧げることにより家内安全や招福を祈願し、今日でもその伝統は残されている。その一端として皇室で行なわれる新嘗祭や大嘗祭にもその儀礼が伝わっている。
If I have the chance, I will translate the Wiki page later.
In additional to the area’s autumn foliage, another highlight of the Gokusho are a number of light-up events held during the season. This is from Fukuoka City's website, something I translated years ago:
“Matsushita hails from a family of carpenters who specialized in building shrines and temples. The opportunity to start a career as a lighting designer also came about through working with sacred buildings. 'The way shrines and temples take in light is very good,' says Matsushita. 'It's difficult for a woman to get involved in shrine and temple carpentry, but then it dawned on me that even a woman like me could work with light.’
“Matsushita is the general producer of the Gokusho Light Up Walk, an event held every autumn in which the historical temples in Gokusho are beautifully illuminated. Areas, which are normally off limits, are opened to the public and bathed in dreamy light. It has become a popular event at which visitors can experience Fukuoka's eternal history. 'The Gokusho area is an area no one normally ventures into at night,' says the lighting designer. ‘Jōten-ji, however, is where Hakata ori (textiles), udon and soba originated. Tōchō-ji was founded by Kōbō-Daishi (also known as Kūkai), who was a Buddhist monk, scholar, poet, and artist. And, Myōraku-ji has a long connection to the merchants of Hakata. There are so many marvelous treasures sleeping there. I wish more people could realize how beautiful it is.’ Matsushita hopes the festival will continue for a hundred years, growing ever livelier at the hands of ordinary people.”
