The streets of the Bukeyashiki that have remained since the Edo Era
Around 400 years ago in the year 1620, Kakunodate was formed as a beautiful area of samurai residences within the designs for a large-scale city that has lasted to the present day. As functional services were put into place such as widened streets, a sewage system and fire preventative measures, the samurai residences and the townspeople area were separated. On one corner of the samurai residences that was once called Uchiyamachi, samurai of high ranking lived there. The vestiges of those times have faithfully remained, and even now, the characteristics of those residences and the lifestyle of the samurai continue to be told.
The street where Bukeyashiki of various standing remain
Uchiyamachi, which is at the north end of the plaza built to prevent the spread of fire located at the center of town, is a corner of the Bukeyashiki where high-class and middle-class samurai once lived. On the approximately 600-meter Uchiyamachi Bukeyashiki Road, the gates, walls and houses built in the Edo Era remain. The oldest residence of Ishiguro House which has the highest standing is open all year. Elsewhere at Aoyagi House which has the beautiful and majestically built Yakui Gate on its 9900 square-meter site, there are also venerable weapons and works of art on display. Also, there are 6 more examples of surviving Bukeyashiki which can be explored for those who are very interested.
The Bukeyashiki streets in spring which are adorned in the sakura which have been designated as a Natural Monument
Another thing to enjoy on the streets of the samurai residences is the season when the houses are decorated brilliantly by seasonal flowers and trees. More than 110 species of trees have been planted so that they line the group of residences; there are fir trees which soar over 20m in height and weeping cherry trees that are over 200 years old. The cherry blossom season that includes the weeping cherries that have been made a Natural Monument by the nation is splendid. It is a famous area that has been selected as one of Japan’s 100 Famed Sites for Sakura.