Forty-five meters of English-bond brick
About 120 meters south of the steel headframe in Tagawa's Coal Memorial Park, a slender brick column climbs to 45 meters, its taper so even it seems drawn with a ruler. This is the Ita Shaft No. 1 Chimney, raised in 1908 to serve the mine's boiler house. Its full height in the old measure was 150 shaku, and the brickwork runs in English bond, the pattern that alternates courses of headers and stretchers for strength. At the base, part of a semicircular arched flue survives, the opening through which hot gases once entered the stack.
A chimney of this scale was not decoration. It was the draft engine of the whole colliery. Beneath it stood the boiler house, where coal fires raised steam, and that steam drove the winding engines that turned the headframe's sheaves and the pumps that kept the deep shaft from flooding. The taller the stack, the stronger the draft pulling air through the furnaces. Height here was horsepower.
The craft in the courses
Meiji Japan built its early heavy industry in imported brick technique, and this chimney shows how quickly local masons mastered it. The stack is one of the largest surviving Meiji-era brick chimneys in the country, and it was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties in 2007, recorded on October 2 and gazetted on October 20, under the criterion of contributing to the historic national landscape. Its registration number is 40-0052.
Read the wall closely and the bricklaying tells its own story. English bond was chosen for round chimneys because the interlocking headers grip the curve and resist the constant thermal stress of a working flue. Each course had to step inward by a precise fraction to hold the taper true across 45 meters. That the column still stands plumb, more than a century after the last fire went out, is the plainest measure of the work.
Reading it against its twin
The No. 1 Chimney rarely stands alone in a visitor's eye. Twenty-five meters to its west rises the No. 2 Chimney, and together the pair is known locally as the two chimneys, the silhouette that became Tagawa's emblem. Compare them and a difference emerges at the foot: the No. 1 keeps a round section from base to cap, while its neighbor begins on an octagon. The contrast is worth a slow look, the kind of detail that separates two structures built in the same year for the same purpose.
The chimney is fenced and cannot be entered, but the park around it is open and free, a short walk from Tagawa-Ita Station. A stair behind the stacks leads to a viewing terrace where the two chimneys and the headframe align against the ridge of Mt. Kawara, the classic vantage for a single photograph of the whole works.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Fukuoka
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Mitsui Tagawa Mine Ita Shaft No. 1 Chimney
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Q&A
- What was this chimney actually for?
- It served the mine's boiler house. Coal fires there raised steam that powered the winding engines and drainage pumps, and the tall stack created the draft that kept the furnaces burning hot.
- What is English bond, and why use it here?
- It is a brickwork pattern that alternates courses of headers and stretchers. On a round chimney it locks the curve together and stands up to the heat stress of a working flue, which is why it was used throughout this 45-meter stack.
- How do I tell the No. 1 Chimney from the No. 2?
- Look at the base. The No. 1 Chimney is round from bottom to top, while the No. 2, standing 25 meters to the west, begins on an octagonal section before turning circular higher up.
- Is there an admission fee?
- No. Coal Memorial Park is free and open, and you can approach the chimney's base on foot. The adjacent Tagawa City Coal and History Museum charges admission and is well worth the visit.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Mitsui Tagawa Mine Ita Shaft No. 1 Chimney |
|---|---|
| Location | 2734-1 Ita, Tagawa City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered October 2, 2007; gazetted October 20, 2007) |
| Registration No. | 40-0052 |
| Built | 1908 |
| Structure | Brick, round section, height about 45 m (150 shaku); English bond, with part of a semicircular arched flue at the base |
| 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. 1 Chimney
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00006467
- Tagawa City Coal and History Museum — digital twin of the park and structures
- https://coalhistory-tagawa.com/
- Crossroad Fukuoka — Tagawa City Coal and History Museum
- https://www.crossroadfukuoka.jp/experience/13249
- TAGAWA Coalmine Festival — official site
- https://tagawa-coalmine.com/
Last verified: 2026.07.10