The ancient Nara period
The origin of the place name "Karadomari" is that during the Nara period 1,500 years ago, it was a place where envoys sent overseas to represent the country, such as envoys to the Tang Dynasty, stayed overnight to wait for the wind. It is said that it was written as "韓亭=Karadomari''. At some point, it came to be called 唐泊=Karadomari, meaning a place where envoys to Tang Dynasty stayed overnight.
Geography of historical value
It is said that there is a valuable place in Karadomari where the original form of Japan's port city still remains.
Most of Japan's port cities, such as Kamakura, Kobe, and Yokohama, have changed greatly over time, and it is very difficult to know what they were like back then. On the other hand, the Ushirohama area in Karadomari has remained largely unchanged since the Nara period. The water (river), fields, and residences necessary for people's lives are formed around the 2m wide main street that connects the port and the beach. Environmentally, due to its close proximity to the sea and mountains, there was little land available for use, so the town did not undergo any changes due to population growth, and as it expanded to other areas such as central Fukuoka, Karadomari underwent a major transformation as a town. It didn't reach that point. In this way, Karadomari, which retains the original form of a town built in the Nara period, has become an extremely valuable subject for research on Japanese port cities.
Also, Karadomari was located in the northeast of the Itoshima Peninsula, and from the top of Mt. Nada, you could look down on the ships coming and going in Hakata Bay, so it played an important role as a strategic point on the sea. There is now a hiking course where you can enjoy the view from the top of the mountain.
As a port, it is an inlet that can avoid the harsh north winds from the Genkai Sea, so in the past it was used as a waiting area for envoys sent to Tang China, and now it is used as a fishing port.
