Tomb of Kumabe Tadanobu

Kumabe Tadanobu (d. 1494) was a samurai who served three generations of Kikuchi lords and played an important role in supporting their efforts to invigorate local culture. The Kumabe were one of the Kikuchi clan’s three main retainer families. They had fought in support of the clan in numerous battles over the centuries, but Tadanobu made his greatest contribution in a time of peace. He was instrumental in building the Koshido, a hall dedicated to Confucius that, after its establishment in 1472, became a center for learning and culture, attracting scholars from as far away as Kyoto.

Tadanobu’s influence in his time is underlined by the fact that he is the only Kikuchi retainer whose tomb has endured intact to the present. His tombstone is visible through a window from the small temple next to the grave. This shrine-like structure honors Tadanobu as a patron of scholarship and attracts visitors who come to pray for good luck before an important exam or other academic challenge.

※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。）

隈部忠直の墓

　隈部家７代兵部大輔上総介隈部忠直は、19代持朝、20代為邦、21代重朝に仕えた菊池家の重臣で、文武両道を兼ね備えていたといわれています。重朝が孔子堂を建設するにあたっては、よき協力者として貢献し、文明13年(1481年)に催された一万句連歌の会にも名を連ねています。墓碑は五輪塔で「ただのぶさん」と呼ばれ、学問上達を祈願する人たちに親しまれていました。