Mentai-ju News vol.4

The prefectural capital of Fukuoka is Fukuoka City, and the central station in Fukuoka City is Hakata Station.
Both "Fukuoka" and "Hakata" are commonly used names, but did you know that the two names have a deep history behind them?

The name Hakata seems to have been used since the Heian period. It is recorded as a place name in the historical book "Shoku Nihongi" from that time, and the area around present-day Hakata Bay was called "Hakata Otsu."
On the other hand, "Fukuoka" was named after Bizen Fukuoka (present-day Fukuoka, Nagafune-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture), the birthplace of Kuroda Nagamasa, who was given the territory of Fukuoka after his distinguished service in the Battle of Sekigahara.
Later, the castle town area in the west came to be called "Fukuoka," and the merchant town and commercial city area in the east came to be called "Hakata."
At the time, the castle town of Fukuoka and the merchant town of Hakata were strictly separated, and people could not travel freely between them.
Nakasu was the only place where people could travel from both sides because it was a major entertainment district with a red-light district, and the Fukuhaku Deai Bridge near our store was an important place connecting the two.

Fast forward to 1889, when the city was deciding on a name, there was a draw between "Fukuoka" and "Hakata", and by a narrow margin "Fukuoka City" was chosen. The name "Hakata" remains in various forms, such as Hakata Station, Hakata Port, and Hakata dolls.
Incidentally, the name "Hakata" is also used in the three major nationally famous festivals of Hakata: the Hakata Dontaku Port Festival (May 3rd - 5th) and the Hakata Gion Yamakasa (July 1st - 15th).
If you visit Fukuoka, be sure to check out "Fukuoka" and "Hakata"!