Hirosaki Nakachō Samurai District

Background

The Hirosaki Nakachō Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings lies north of Hirosaki Castle and is not inside Hirosaki Park. According to Hirosaki City, outside the old castle's north gate the Kamenokōmachi merchant street was laid out first, with the former samurai residential area arranged further north; today the preservation district covers about 10.6 hectares, part of the old Nakachō. The continuous hiba (Japanese cypress) hedges, board fences, gates and garden trees along the roads, together with the wooden main houses set further back, preserve the street scale of the castle town. In 1978 the district was selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings; what is protected is not a single isolated "samurai house" but the plot divisions and residential landscape. Residences such as the former Iwata, Itō and Umeda houses help you understand the living spaces of different families, but some buildings have been moved or repaired, so you cannot say across the board that every one has been preserved on its original site in its original form. The district is still lived in today, and as well as reading its history, visitors need to keep in mind that it is a place of daily life in continuous use. You can walk between it and Hirosaki Park, but the two differ in management, opening and the focus of their stories.

Local customs

• Both sides of the Nakachō streets have private homes, so keep to public roads and residences that are clearly open to visitors
• do not step over hedges or gates or enter private gardens. When taking photos, avoid close-up shots of residents' windows or people coming and going, and do not block the narrow streets. For the open residences, follow the on-site signs regarding footwear, photography and indoor visits.

Religion & beliefs

• Nakachō is mainly a former samurai residential district, not a unified space for religious worship
• if your walk extends to temples and shrines nearby, follow the beliefs and visiting rules of each facility separately.

Rules that apply here

Travel tips

• The preservation district listed by Hirosaki City lies in Wakatōmachi and nearby areas and covers about 10.6 hectares
• the streets are open for walking and there is no single ticketed entrance. Starting from the north gate of Hirosaki Park, you can include Nakachō in the same walking route
• looking at the streetscape takes about 30–45 minutes, and if you also enter the open old residences and read the explanations, allow about 1–1.5 hours. Opening dates and times may differ from residence to residence, so check the Hirosaki City or tourism association websites before planning
• even if the residences are closed, the public roads still let you understand the layout of the district. In spring the Hirosaki Park area is crowded, so take extra care on the narrow streets for traffic and residents' daily lives. The district is not a "theme park", and you should not expect every garden to be open to the public. The 2011 photo shows the Nakachō streetscape at that time and does not guarantee that every detail is exactly the same today.