was a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in Naoiri District,

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,081,646 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, K ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 4,686 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 32.84 persons per km². The total area was 142.69 km². On April 1, 2005, Kujū, along with the towns of Naoiri and Ogi (all from Naoiri District), was merged into the expanded city of Taketa. In addition to being a tourist destination, beef, strawberries, rice and mushrooms are produced locally by small scale farmers. Mount Kujū is a popular local destination for hiking and in the spring, there are abundant pink flowering shrubs (''miayama kirishima''). Hikers may use the Bogatsuru (坊がつる) campsite free of charge. The surrounding areas have many

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

or natural hot springs. Kujū also has a flower park, which sells lavender ice cream. Many families in Kujū still live a traditional Japanese lifestyle, with extended families living together, houses with real

shoji A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaque '' fusuma'' is used (/close ...

- rice paper sliding doors and

tatami are soft mats used as flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. They are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about , depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are used for training in a dojo and for competition. ...

mats, and people eating rice, fish and miso soup for breakfast. Kujū is also home to

TAO The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...

, one of Japan's foremost

taiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...

groups, and Kudami Taiko, an all women taiko group.

References

Dissolved municipalities of Ōita Prefecture Taketa, Ōita {{Oita-geo-stub