Saga Prefecture

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Lore & Background

In ancient times, the area composed by Nagasaki Prefecture and Saga Prefecture was called Hizen Province. Rice farming culture has prospered here since ancient times, and vestiges can be seen at the ruins of Nabatake in Karatsu and the Yoshinogari site in Yoshinogari. From the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period, it is thought that over 100 feudal clans existed. Also exerting great influence during this time was a samurai clan operating along the Genkai Sea called the Matsuratō. Upon entering the Sengoku period, the Ryūzōji clan expanded their control to include all of Hizen and Chikugo Provinces, and part of Higo and Chikuzen Provinces. After the death of daimyō Ryūzōji Takanobu, Nabeshima Naoshige took control of the political situation, and by 1607 all of the Ryūzōji clan's domain was under the control of the Nabeshima clan. In the Edo period this area was called the Saga Domain (佐賀藩 Saga-han), and it included three sub-domains: the Hasunoike, Ogi and Kashima Domains. Saga Domain and its sub-domains continued to be ruled by the Nabeshima clan, its various illegitimate family lineages and members of the former Ryūzōji clan, and politically the area was relatively stable. The cost of defending Nagasaki was increasing and, difficult from the start, the financial situation was worsened by the great Kyōhō famine and the Siebold Typhoon of 1828. Due to the large area of reclaimed land from the Ariake Sea, arable land was increased significantly and by the 1840s the annual koku of Saga Domain increased to about 670,000, twice that of 200 years before. Around the middle of the 19th century, Naomasa Nabeshima strove to set right the domain's financial affairs, reduce the number of government officials, and encourage local industry such as Arita porcelain, green tea, and coal. Also, thanks to the proximity of the international port of Nagasaki, new technologies were introduced from overseas, such as the reverberatory furnace and models of steam locomotives. After the Boshin War, many people from Saga Domain assisted in the Meiji Restoration.

Reader's Guide

Saga Prefecture's significance lies in its historical role as a center of ceramic production and its contributions to Japan's modernization. The region's ceramics, especially from Karatsu, Imari, and Arita, have been renowned for centuries. During the Edo period, Saga Domain achieved agricultural expansion through land reclamation from the Ariake Sea, doubling its annual koku output to about 670,000 by the 1840s. The domain's proximity to Nagasaki allowed early adoption of Western technology, including reverberatory furnaces and steam locomotives, which influenced Japan's industrial development. After the Meiji Restoration, Saga Prefecture was established in 1883 after several administrative changes, including being merged into Mizuma Prefecture and then Nagasaki Prefecture before being re-established. The prefecture's legacy includes the Yoshinogari History Park, which opened to the public in 1992 preserving Yayoi period village remains, and the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant, which began operation in 1975. Today, Saga remains largely rural, with agricultural and forested lands comprising over 68% of its total prefectural land area, and it continues to be known for its traditional crafts and historical sites.

Did You Know?

• The Siebold Typhoon of 1828 caused heavy damage in Saga, with deaths estimated at over 10,000.
• By the 1840s, the annual koku of Saga Domain had increased to about 670,000, twice that of 200 years before, due to reclaimed land from the Ariake Sea.
• The Yoshinogari History Park, which opened in 1992, preserves village remains from the Yayoi period (1st century BC).
• Saga Prefecture was re-established as an independent prefecture in 1883, after being merged into Mizuma Prefecture and then Nagasaki Prefecture.
• The Genkai Nuclear Power Plant began operation in 1975.