[Akita] Edo period samurai residence street “Kakunodate Samurai Residence”

A place where the streets of the Edo period remain

The Kakunodate Samurai Residences are a series of residences of middle and lower-ranking samurai from the Edo period that remain in the Kakunodate district of Senboku City, Akita Prefecture. A number of these residences are clustered along the city road, Samurai Residences, a little south of the national highway that runs from Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, through Senboku City, Akita Prefecture, to Akita City, Akita Prefecture, and the area is now designated as a national preservation district for groups of traditional buildings

Photo by juson.tw – 6 Senzan City Kakunodate Martial Artists (60)_Adjusted Size (2009) / Size-adapted.

On top of Furushiroyama in this area, there was originally a castle called Kakunodate Castle, and the area where the Kakunodate Samurai Residences are located is the castle town of Kakunodate Castle. During this time, it was called Uchimachi, in contrast to Tomachi, where merchants lived, and it was where samurai serving the Satake Kita clan, the lords of Kakunodate Castle, lived together. However, after the One Castle per Province Order was issued, the castle itself was demolished, and the lord of the castle built his residence at the foot of the mountain, and it continued to function as a castle town

The Satake clan was originally a branch of the Seiwa Genji clan that arose in Hitachi Province, which is now Ibaraki Prefecture, and like the Kai Takeda clan, famous for the Sengoku daimyo Takeda Shingen, also known as the "Tiger of Kai," the Satake clan is a prestigious family with a distant ancestor, Shinra Saburo Yoshimitsu. During the Sengoku period, Satake Yoshishige, feared as the "Demon Satake," and his eldest son, Satake Yoshinobu, built a territory of 540,000 koku centered on Hitachi Province, but because of their friendship with Ishida Mitsunari, they took an opportunistic attitude during the Battle of Sekigahara and were subsequently transferred to Akita

The Satake clan had branches in the east, west, north and south, but to ensure smooth management of their new territory in Akita, the feudal lord ruled from the main castle, Kubota Castle, and had family members live in the main lands within the region. One of these was Kakunodate, which the northern branch would rule until the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures in the Meiji period

The Kakunodate Samurai Residences still retain the townscape of the time, with a series of estates surrounded by black walls along the wide streets, and trees such as weeping cherry trees creating a nostalgic and beautiful landscape, which has earned the area the nickname "Little Kyoto of Michinoku." Some of the samurai residences, with their magnificent main buildings, gates, and storehouses, are open to the public, allowing you to immerse yourself in the Edo atmosphere

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