Tenjin/Yakuin Area | History & Culture Hirao Sanso (Mountain Villa)
Nomura Motoni(1806-1867) was a female poet of the late Edo Period from the local area and known as a dedicated supporter of anti-Tokugawa shogunate faction. This house was her second home and is now designated as an important historical site of the city. A tea hut of the time is represented and visiters can observe inside the hut. At the age of 54, Nomura lost her husband and became a priest. And then she awakened to the loyalty to Emperor and the idea of overthrowing the Shogunate, and started to protect in her house the soldiers of the anti-shogunate faction, such as Takasugi Shinsaku. She was arrested by the government force, exiled to a distant island of Himeshima but saved not long after that under the order of Takasugi.