Kakunodate Area

With its deep grove of trees and stately samurai residences, Kakunodate is a town that still retains the atmosphere of its feudal domain era. Often referred to as the “Little Kyoto of Tohoku,” the entire town exudes an elegant charm, making it a renowned place for viewing cherry blossoms.

This town was established in 1620 (Genna 6) by Ashina Yoshikatsu, who governed the Kakunodate region. Situated in the northern part of the fertile Senboku Plain, the area is surrounded on three sides by mountains, with the Hinokinai River to the west and the Tamagawa River to the south—an ideal location for forming a castle town.

One of the most notable features of the castle town’s layout (design) is the earthen embankment built along the central north–south axis of the town, which served as a firebreak. This embankment divided the area into the samurai residential district, known as Uchimachi, and the townspeople’s residential district, Tomachi (Sotomachi). The samurai residences functioned not only as living spaces, but also collectively formed a type of fortified structure.

The area known as “Bukeyashiki Street,” stretching from Route 341 at the foot of Kojōzan to Hiyoke-mae, was the very first district to be designated in September 1976 (Showa 51) as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings by the national government.

The firebreak zone had more than just the role of separating Uchimachi from Tomachi. It is said to have been constructed to prevent fires that started in the townspeople’s district from spreading into the samurai district. A wooden gate was also installed in the middle of the earthen mound, and it was closed at night. In addition to preventing fire, it likely also helped keep suspicious individuals from entering.

Although today people can move freely between the areas, the town layout—dividing the northern samurai society and the southern merchants’ and craftsmen’s society—has been preserved intact for over 400 years.

In Kakunodate, some neighborhood names include the character “丁,” such as Omotemachi Shimodōri / Kamidōri and Tōshōrakuchō, while others include the character “町,” such as Iwase-machi and Shimoshin-machi.

This is because “丁” was used for districts where samurai lived, while “町” was used for merchant districts.

The fact that place names still retain these distinctions from several hundred years ago is one of Kakunodate’s many charms.