The charm of Kakunodate

Traces of the castle town still remain today

It was the Ashina clan who created the Kakunodate that continues to this day in Kakunodate in 1620 (6th year of Genna), at the beginning of the Edo period. After that, it flourished as a castle town for the Satake clan.

The city area runs along the Tama River and the Hinokinai River and is surrounded by mountains on three sides. It is a tourist destination with beautiful historic samurai residences and rows of cherry blossom trees , making it truly worthy of being called "Little Kyoto of the Michinoku region."

The town was centered around a square called "Hiyoke," and was divided into an "Uchimachi" area to the north where samurai residences were lined up, and an "Tomachi to the south where townspeople and merchants lived.

Guide to Samurai Residences

Paid facilities Ishiguro House / Aoyagi Samurai Manor Museum / Kawarada House

Free facilities: Iwahashi family / Odano family / Matsumoto family

According to the document, "A line will be drawn 382 ken (approximately 687 meters) south from the base of Kojo, and a line will be drawn east and west to serve as a firebreak. An open space 12 ken (approximately 21 meters) wide and 160 ken (approximately 288 meters) east to west will be created, and a rampart 1 jo (approximately 3 meters) high will be built a little south of the center, completely cutting off the inner town and outer town ."
It is said that a firebreak was installed to prevent a fire from spreading to the inner town if a fire broke out in the outer town. In addition, a wooden gate was installed in the middle of the earthen wall, and it was closed at night.
I'm sure it not only prevented fires, but also prevented suspicious people from entering.

The town layout, which was divided into a samurai society in the north and a merchant and artisan society in the south, has remained the same even now, more than 400 years later.

When you visit Kakunodate, be sure to enjoy your sightseeing while imagining what life was like for the samurai and townspeople of the past.

"Cho" and "machi"

Among the neighborhood names in Kakunodate, some have the "cho" part, such as "Omotemachi Shimocho/Kamicho" and "Higashikadorakucho," while others have the "cho" part, such as "Iwasemachi" and "Shimoshinmachi."
This is because the names of neighborhoods where samurai lived end with "cho," while merchant towns end with "machi."
One of The charm of Kakunodate is that the place names still retain traces of history from hundreds of years ago.

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