Chikuzen Province, Historical province in Saikaidō, Japan
Chikuzen was a province in the northern Kyūshū region that later formed the northern and western sections of present-day Fukuoka Prefecture. The territory extended from inland mountains to coastal bays and bordered Hizen, Buzen, and Bungo.
After the Battle of Hakusonko in 663, the area became a military staging point and soon received the administrative center of Dazaifu. In the 13th century the coast served as a site for resisting the Mongol fleet, which was destroyed by a typhoon.
The establishment of the Dazaifu administration brought thousands of officials and their families into the region and shaped western Kyūshū into a gateway between Japan and the continent. Its influence marked the growth of settlements and temples along the old roads stretching between hills and coastline.
The expanse covered a large area that today lies within many small towns and cities reaching up to the northern coast of Kyūshū. Those who want to visit the historical reminders find guidance in temple districts and at the former administrative seat in Dazaifu.
The Mongol invasion event gave rise to the term kamikaze, which literally means divine wind and later received a completely different meaning. The original typhoon is still regarded in the area today as part of the local narrative of how nature protected the land.
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