Tomb of Kikuchi Noritaka

Kikuchi Noritaka was the founder of the Kikuchi clan. Most details of his life are unknown, but he is thought to have been a high-ranking court official who held a post at Dazaifu, the administrative center of Kyushu near the present-day city of Fukuoka. In 1070, Noritaka arrived in what is now the Kikuchi district, possibly to oversee an agricultural estate (shoen) owned by the court. Noritaka adopted the surname of Kikuchi and built a fortified compound on the river that was later given the same name, laying the foundations for the castle town of Waifu.

The Kikuchi district was a remote but thriving agricultural region, where rice cultivation flourished. Noritaka established his compound in the eastern part of these fertile plains, in a strategic location that allowed him and his descendants to control traffic on the Kikuchi River. Monopolizing trade on the river and selling crops grown on the surrounding plains allowed the Kikuchi clan to flourish, and the fort Noritaka built remained its headquarters until the late 1300s.

Noritaka’s tomb stands on the site of this compound, on the grounds of which he is thought to have been buried. Constructed in 1818, it is a monument rather than an actual grave.

※About the Kikuchi clan.（菊池一族とは）

※Other cultural property explanatory boards are also multilingual.（この他の文化財説明板も多言語化しています。）

菊池則隆の墓

　菊池初代則隆については、藤原後胤説や菊池土豪説などの諸説があります。大宰府の荘官としてこの地に赴任した則隆は、延久２年（１０７０）、深川に居館「北宮館」を構え、ここを本拠として肥後国一円に散在する所領を管理していたとされます。深川は菊池平野の東部に位置し、かつ菊池川舟運の発着地点でもありました。「北宮館」は土塁と堀壕で囲まれた広い屋敷を持つ館であったと思われます。後に守山城に移るまで、この居館を中心に営々として領内の開発に努め、さらに菊池氏歴代惣領が南朝方に味方した拠点でした。

　則隆は永保元年（１０８１）に死亡し、深川村上原に葬られたとされますが、その墓（五輪塔）は文化１５年（１８１８）に造られ、明治・大正と３回の工事を経て、現在に至っています。墓の基壇には古墳の石材が利用され、古老の話では墓の下に朱塗りの石棺が埋まっているといわれています。