The area of Yame was part of ancient
Chikugo Province. It has been inhabited since ancient times, and many ruins from the
Jōmon period to the
Yayoi period have been discovered, as well as more than 300
kofun burial mounds from the
Kofun period. A powerful ancient state existed in the Yame region, and it was the center of the
Iwai Rebellion of 527 AD against the Yamato court. The Iwatoyama Kofun, located in northern Yame, is said to be the tomb of the leader of that rebellion and is the largest
keyhole-shaped tumulus in northern Kyushu. During the
Edo Period, Fukushima Castle in Yame was one of the largest flatland-style
Japanese castles in the region and had a three-story
tenshu. It was destroyed in 1615 after the area became part of
Kurume Domain, but the
jōkamachi survived to be one of the largest merchant towns within Kurume Domain. Many traditional buildings from the Edo period to modern times remain along the streets, mainly lacquered houses. After the
Meiji restoration, the town of Fukushima was established on 1 May 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. In 1943, during
World War II, Fukushima was proposed as a site for relocating the capital of Japan. On 1 April 1954 was raised to city status.. Initially, it was planned to name the city "Chikugo-Fukushima," but due to possible confusion with neighbouring Chikugo city, it was decided to name the city "Yame" instead. At that time, there was a strong opposition to the name from the residents of the former Fukushima town. On 1 October 2006 the town of
Jōyō (from
Yame District) was merged into Yame. On 1 February 2010, the towns of
Kurogi and
Tachibana, and the villages of
Hoshino and
Yabe (all from Yame District) were merged into Yame. ==Government==