The chimney a whole country sang about
One of Japan's best-known folk songs opens with a line about a chimney: the moon rises, and the stack is so tall the moon must find it smoky. The Tankō Bushi, a coal miners' dance song that spread from the Chikuhō field across the country, is tied by local tradition to the two brick stacks in Tagawa's Coal Memorial Park. The Ita Shaft No. 2 Chimney is one of them. Built in 1908 to a height of 45 meters, 150 shaku in the old measure, it stands 25 meters west of its twin and, with the No. 1 Chimney and the steel headframe, forms the trio the song made famous.
Look at its foot and the No. 2 reveals a quiet distinction. Where most brick stacks are round all the way down, this one begins on an octagonal section before the shaft turns circular higher up, the whole laid in English bond. It is a small architectural decision that gives the pair, seen together, a subtle asymmetry rewarding a second glance.
From working stack to civic emblem
The chimney served the same boiler house as its neighbor, venting the furnaces that raised steam for the mine's engines. When the pits closed, that industrial role ended, but a second life had already begun. Tagawa calls itself the birthplace of the Tankō Bushi, and the two chimneys became the image the town carries of itself. In 2007 the stack was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties, recorded on October 2 and gazetted on October 20, registration number 40-0053, under the criterion of contributing to the historic national landscape.
The song is not the only memory kept here. Inside the park, the Tagawa City Coal and History Museum holds the collection of Yamamoto Sakubei, a miner who painted and described the underground world he had worked in. In 2011 his records became the first material from Japan inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World register. Standing beneath the chimney, a visitor is within a few minutes' walk of both the song and the paintings that carry the coalfield's human story.
When to come, and what to watch for
The pair is at its most alive on the first weekend of November, when the TAGAWA Coalmine Festival fills the park. After dark the two chimneys and the headframe are lit, and thousands gather to dance the Tankō Bushi in a great circle beneath them. On the festival's first night, candles are set out across the grounds. For the rest of the year the scene is quieter, and the reward is simply the walk: up to the viewing terrace behind the stacks, where the two chimneys, the headframe, and the ridge of Mt. Kawara line up as the song describes.
The chimney is fenced and cannot be entered, but the park is open and free, a short walk from Tagawa-Ita Station. Read the base as you pass, find the octagon, and you will never mistake the No. 2 for its rounder twin again.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Fukuoka
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Mitsui Tagawa Mine Ita Shaft No. 2 Chimney
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Q&A
- Is this really the chimney in the Tankō Bushi song?
- Local tradition holds that the two chimneys of the Ita Shaft, this one and the No. 1, are the stacks in the song's opening lines. Tagawa is known as the birthplace of the Tankō Bushi, and the pair is the town's emblem.
- What makes the No. 2 Chimney different from the No. 1?
- Its base. The No. 2 begins on an octagonal section and turns circular higher up, while the No. 1, standing 25 meters to the east, is round the whole way. Both were built in 1908 in English-bond brick.
- What is the Yamamoto Sakubei collection nearby?
- It is the work of a Chikuhō miner who painted and wrote about life underground. In 2011 it became the first records from Japan on UNESCO's Memory of the World register, and it is held at the museum in this park.
- When is the best time to visit?
- The first weekend of November, during the TAGAWA Coalmine Festival, when the chimneys are lit and crowds dance the Tankō Bushi. The park is open year-round and free, with a viewing terrace behind the stacks.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Mitsui Tagawa Mine Ita Shaft No. 2 Chimney |
|---|---|
| Location | 2734-1 Ita, Tagawa City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered October 2, 2007; gazetted October 20, 2007) |
| Registration No. | 40-0053 |
| Built | 1908 |
| Structure | Brick, height about 45 m (150 shaku); English bond, octagonal at the base and circular above |
| Count | 1 structure |
| Owner | Tagawa City |
| Access | About 8 minutes on foot from Tagawa-Ita Station; grounds free and open, structure viewable from outside only |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs — National Cultural Properties Database, Ita Shaft No. 2 Chimney
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00006491
- Tagawa City Coal and History Museum — digital twin of the park and structures
- https://coalhistory-tagawa.com/
- Crossroad Fukuoka — Coal Memorial Park
- https://www.crossroadfukuoka.jp/spot/13044
- TAGAWA Coalmine Festival — official site
- https://tagawa-coalmine.com/
Last verified: 2026.07.10