Kiridoshi; Shimabara Road
Kiridoshi
This area was called ‘Kiridoshi’ and was so named as a road was cut through the hill here. Kiridoshi Castle, which once guarded the eastern side of Tsurukame Castle, was located at what is now Kojiro Primary School.
Shimabara Road
Shimabara Road was a major road that circled the Shimabara Peninsula during the Edo Period (1603-1868). The road from Shimabara Castle to Aino (North Road), which runs half-circularly along the Ariake Sea on the northern side of the Shimabara Peninsula to Aino, is still called the ‘Lord’s Road’ because it joined the Nagasaki Road at Isahaya on the way to Edo (present-day Tokyo) during the pilgrimage of the daimyo (feudal lord) to Shimabara. Heading west from Kiridoshi, the road passes through the mountain side of Sato Clinic to Nagahama and connects to the Isahaya direction. Heading east, it connects to the Shimabara area via Fuda-no-moto and other places.
Heading straight west, the Kojirokuji area has been selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings and was a samurai town of the Kojiro Domain of the Saga Clan. The area still retains its Edo Period layout, with samurai residences and other buildings preserved.