《92》Early Modern Hakata and the Twin Cities (Part 3)...The Birth of the Twin Cities (First Half)
- Along with the construction of Fukuoka Castle, the construction of the castle town of the Fukuoka domain expanded into a planned layout of streets where the residences of vassals and townspeople lived. First, the residences of the eight senior vassals were established within the castle, but the residences of the other vassals were built on a long, narrow strip of land facing the sea on the north side across the moat.
- Senior vassals had their residences in prime locations from the edge of the moat in front of the Ote-mon gate to the east in the direction of Daimyo-machi and Tenjin-machi, while the residences of middle-ranking vassals were located mainly in Aratomachi to the west of the moat. Lower-ranked vassals lived in kosyo-machi and teppo-machi to the south of the higher-ranked vassals.
- Nishijin and Jigyo, located on the outskirts of the castle town and today one of the sub-centers of Fukuoka, are said to have been the residences of the foot soldiers (Ashigaru) of the Fukuoka clan. The town of Yakuin, located to the south of the samurai residences, was home to many doctors, as its name suggests.
- In addition, the townspeople who supported the Kuroda family and its vassals were assigned and concentrated in the town according to their occupations. This is evidenced by the neat rows of old town names such as Daiku-machi, Kajiya-machi, Gofuku-machi, and Konya-machi that line the east and west sides of the town. /
近世博多と双子都市（その３）…双子都市の誕生（前半）
- 福岡藩の城下町の建設は、福岡城の築城とともに、家臣団の屋敷や町人の住む街並みの計画的な配置へと拡大していきました。まず重臣八人の屋敷は城内に設けられたが、そのほかの藩士の屋敷は、堀を隔てて北側の海に面した細長い土地につくられました。
- 上級家臣は大手門前の濠端からその東の大名町•天神町方面の一等地に屋敷をつらね、中級家臣の屋敷はその西の荒戸町を中心に配置されました。また下級家臣は上級家臣団の南側に位置する小姓町•鉄砲町などに住みました。
- かつて城下町のはずれにあり、今日では福岡の副都心の一つに数えられる西新や地行は、福岡藩の足軽の居住地であったといわれています。また武家屋敷の南側に位置する薬院という町は、その名が示すように医師が多く住んでいた所でした。
- このほか、黒田家やその家臣団の生活を支えるための町人たちが、職業別に町に配属、集居させられました。これらは、旧町名の大工町・鍛冶屋町・呉服町・紺屋町などの町並みが整然と東西に並んでいることでも明らかとなっています。