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There lies a beautiful little region between Kumamoto PrefectureYamaga Tourou lantern (left) and people dancing with the Yamaga Tourou on their headin the Yamaga Tourou Odori (right)Yamaga ToroMade without using wood or metal, from nothing but washi paper and a bit of glue, the Yamaga Toro are a traditional handicraft said to have been passed down from the Muromachi period. Painstakingly built to the finest level of mountains and among clear valley streams in the north of Yamaga, a town situated in northern Kumamoto Prefecture. Having reaped the benefits of the Kikuchi river system which flows south from the center of town, this is a land of abundant nature and wide, sprawling countryside. From the Yamaga Onsen hot spring village and Buzen-dori — a street reminiscent of Japan’s old-fashioned merchant rows— to Yachiyo Theater, a designated Important Cultural Property, and Kikuchi Castle, a designated Historical Site, Yamaga is rich in cultural assets.detail by the hands of a skilled lantern-making master, these paper lanterns are often called paper works of art in themselves. Each year in mid-August the town holds the Yamaga Tourou Odori (“thousand-person lantern dance”) as well as fireworks show, a torchlight Kikuchi Castle6633Yamaga City