Chikuzen province, comprising the western portions of what is today [[Fukuoka prefecture]], sat in northern [[Kyushu]], bordering [[Buzen province]] to the east, [[Chikugo province]] to the south, and [[Hizen province]] to the west, and incorporated a number of small islands, including [[Okinoshima]] and [[Oronoshima]], in the [[Genkai Sea]], between Kyushu and [[Tsushima]]. [[Hakata]] and [[Fukuoka]] were the most major cities, along with [[Dazaifu]].
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As the region of "mainland" Japan closest to the Korean Peninsula, some sources credit Chikuzen with being the first place in Japan to have [[wet-rice agriculture]] and metal tools, introduced during the [[Yayoi period]], and the first to be introduced to [[Buddhism]] and writing.<ref>Arne Kalland, ''Fishing Villages in Tokugawa Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (1995), 15.</ref>
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Its location facing Korea also made Chikuzen the site of defensive preparations and battle against the [[Mongol invasions]] of the late 13th century, and of preparations and departure for [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi|Toyotomi Hideyoshi's]] [[Korean Invasions|invasions of Korea]] in the 16th century.