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The extra I be taught in regards to the Samurai, the extra I’m wondering why they’ve grow to be so beloved within the centuries since all of them however disappeared. Really, which may not be an accurate framing.
To make certain, it’s simple to grasp individuals’s affection for the Samurai—courageous and highly-skilled warriors who maintained peace throughout Japan’s violent Sengoku interval—as people and historic figures. It’s after I spend an excessive amount of eager about what number of tens of millions suffered by way of the time of “warring states” that the gravity of Japan’s previous overwhelms me.
Which is neither right here nor there. I’m right here as we speak, in spite of everything, to inform you about my favourite remaining Samurai cities in Japan, to not provide you with a lecture on Japanese historical past.
Why So Few Samurai Districts Stay
The rationale why there aren’t that many “actual” Japan Samurai cities is deceptively easy. The period of Samurai successfully got here to an finish after the Meiji Restoration, throughout which a lot of the locations the place the soldiers had lived had been both torn down utterly or transformed into one thing else. That is just like what occurred to all however 12 of the tons of of castles that remained from Japan’s feudal period.
Now, in some instances, the cities I’ll be itemizing had been mainly intact earlier than the trendy period of mass tourism, and required a barely sprucing up. This completely describes Kakunodate, which had mainly sat in a state of disrepair (however intact disrepair) for hundreds of years till about 1990. In different instances, an excessive amount of restoration (and, arguably, reconstruction) has occurred. Kanazawa’s Naga-machi falls extra into this class.
The Greatest-Preserved Samurai Cities in Japan
Kakunodate, Akita
For my cash, Kakunodate is the single-best Samurai village in Japan. It’s house to a number of former Samurai properties, a lot of that are nonetheless owned by the unique households. Higher but? It’s lovely all 12 months lengthy (particularly in autumn and spring), and is accessible on foot simply quarter-hour from Kakunodate Station (a cease alongside the Akita Shinkansen route).
Hagi, Yamaguchi
One other nice instance of an actual Samurai city in Japan? Yamaguchi prefecture’s Hagi, formally often called “Hagi Fortress City.” Whether or not you merely traipse down its streets (the place mikan and palm timber distinction with typical pines) or take a ship tour to see all of it from water degree, this fascinating idyll is well worth the trek of getting there. If the climate is correct, you may even take pleasure in a while on the seashore!
Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima
I’ll be sincere that the primary time I visited Aizu-Wakamatsu, in Fukushima prefecture, its Samurai heritage was not instantly clear. This is sensible, in fact: Aizu, to which the city’s identify is commonly abbreviated, is a big metropolis, and a largely trendy one at that. Nonetheless, whether or not you go to Tsuruga Fortress or octogonal Sazaedo temple (the positioning of a Samurai’s final stand), there’s lots right here to find.
Chiran, Kagoshima
This may simply be essentially the most off-the-beaten-path of all of the Japan Samurai districts. To get right here, that you must take a day journey from Kagoshima (the southwestern most main metropolis of Japan’s 4 foremost islands) onto the Satsuma Peninsula, which mainly requires a automobile. The trade-off? Even throughout busy seasons, the Chiran Samurai District is mainly abandoned, with just a few largely native individuals exploring it.
Naga-machi, Kanazawa
Against this, Naga-machi (which is a district of central Kanazawa, and is definitely nearer to Kanazawa Station than Kanazawa Fortress or Kenroku-en backyard) can really feel busy, on account of how handy it’s to one in every of Japan’s up-and-coming vacationer cities. Alternatively, paying to enter a Samurai house (I like Nomura-ke) cuts out among the extra informal passers-by, and permits you to benefit from the district with a bit extra peace and quiet.
Samurai Points of interest in Main Japan Cities
Wish to expertise Samurai tradition with out leaving Tokyo or Kyoto? That is potential, albeit at a value. For instance at one of many Samurai facilities in these cities (in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, or in Kyoto’s Nishiki Market), you may take pleasure in an expertise that’s at the least aesthetically correct. Nevertheless, from the small and confined environment to the contrived nature of the place on the whole, you permit feeling such as you’ve finished little greater than interact in cosplay.
Different spots really feel barely extra genuine, even when they fall wanting constituting precise Samurai properties in Japan. I’m considering specifically of Sengaku-ji temple in Tokyo, which is definitely accessible on foot from Shinagawa Station (although it’s nearer to the Sengaku-ji Station on the Toei Subway Asakusa Line). It is a spot made well-known for its affiliation with the 47 ronin, even when I can’t in good conscience advocate the film of the identical identify.
Different FAQ About Samurai Cities in Japan
Are there any Samurai villages in Japan?
There are a number of cities and cities in Japan the place you may go to genuine former Samurai properties. These embody locations like Naga-machi in Kanazawa metropolis, which is kind of on the vacationer path, but additionally spots like Akita’s Kakunodate city and the Chiran Samurai district close to Kagoshima in Kyushu.
What metropolis in Japan is understood for Samurai?
Fukushima prefecture’s Aizu-Wakamatsu might be the biggest Japanese metropolis with a robust Samurai affiliation. If we aren’t being technical in regards to the dimension of the place, nonetheless, than the city of Kakunodate in Akita prefecture is unquestionably essentially the most contained, complete former Samurai settlement in Japan.
The place is one of the best place for Samurai historical past in Japan?
You may be taught quite a lot of Samurai historical past even by visiting the Samurai expertise facilities in massive cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. Nevertheless, in order for you a historical past lesson within the context of the structure and concrete design that displays how the Samurai lived, cities like Kakunodate (in Akita) or Kanazawa’s Naga-machi district are your greatest greatest.
The Backside Line
It’s moderately simple to achieve genuine Samurai cities in Japan, at the least if you happen to’ll be within the components of Japan the place they continue to be, or have sufficient slack in your itinerary you can get there. Most notably, the Naga-machi district of Kanazawa is correct within the coronary heart of that metropolis, so if you happen to’re staying there, you nearly can’t miss it. Against this, different such cities in Japan vary from the superlative however well-known Kakunodate in Akita prefecture, to extra obscure cities like Yamaguchi’s Hagi and Chiran on the oft-missed Satsuma Peninsula close to Kagoshima. Want personalised assist incorporating Samurai historical past into your Japan journey? Fee a customized Japan itinerary as we speak!
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