The charm of Kakunodate

Remnants of the castle town that still remains

It was Ashina who created the townscape of Kakunodate in 1620 (6th year of Genna) at the beginning of the Edo period. After that, it prospered as a castle town of the Satake Kita family.

Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the city is surrounded by mountains along the Tamagawa and Hinokinai rivers, and the historic samurai residence and cherry blossom trees are beautiful. is.

The town is divided into "Uchimachi" where townspeople and merchants live on the south side, centering on a plaza called "Hiyokechi " . it was done.

Information on samurai residences

Paid facility Ishiguro family / Aoyagi Samurai Manor Museum / Kawarada family

Free facilities Iwahashi family / Odano family / Matsumoto family

According to the materials, "Kojo ken (about 687 m) south of the foot of Mt. Kojo, a line from east to west will be used to prevent fire. A 1-length (about 3 meters) high earthen wall will be built on the south side of the center to completely block the inner and outer towns . "
It is said that a fire shield was installed to prevent the inner town from catching fire when a fire broke out in the outer town. Furthermore, a Kido gate was set up in the middle of the earthworks, and it was closed at night.
Isn't it not only a fire but also an effect that prevents suspicious persons from invading?

The town division, which was divided into a samurai society in the north and a merchant / craftsman society in the south, still retains its origin even after more than 400 years.

When you come to Kakunodate, please enjoy sightseeing while thinking about the lives of the former samurai and tradesmen.

"Ding" and "town"

There are places where the name of the town of Kakunodate has "Cho" such as "Omotesando Shimocho / Kamicho" and "Higashi Katsurakucho", and there are places where "Town" such as "Iwase Town" and "Shimoshinmachi" are attached.
This is because the name of the town where the samurai lived has "Ding", and the merchant town has "Town".
One The charm of Kakunodate is that the place names retain the remnants of hundreds of years ago.

(The photo on the right is from the kakunodate no Omatsuri)