Hita

Hita lies in a basin of western Bungo, where roads converge between the mountains of Kyushu. In 1601 an administrator built a castle on Tsukikuma hill and laid out a merchants' town across the Kagetsu River. Much of the district came under direct shogunal control in 1639, and Hita became a centre of administration and trade. The merchants of Mameda and Kuma maintained wide commercial connections, through which news and ideas also travelled.