Samurai Japan Beyond the Battlefield

The British Museum's recent Samurai exhibition proved disappointing. Fortunately, within Japan, there are plenty of opportunities to appreciate the real thing.

In many cases, Japan's physical heritage has survived the years better in smaller, more remote communities than in large population centers, which were much more likely to be targets of bombing campaigns and urban renewal.

In recent times, the tourist boom has had the beneficial effect of incentivizing high-quality restoration work. The evident civic pride is inspiring and-needless to say–there are no Disney products or "woke" gestures of the kind that marred the British Museum's exhibition.

Highly recommended are the samurai estates in the small town of Kakunodate in snowy Akita Prefecture and the two post towns of Tsumago and Magome in the mountainous Kiso region above Nagoya. To enjoy the full experience, it is best to sample the local cuisine and try as many types of sake as possible.

A Town Built by Rank

In Kakunodate, six samurai residences are open to the public. Located close to where the castle once stood in the north of the town, they comprise the properties of high-ranking, medium-ranking, and low-ranking samurai, distinguished by the size and architecture of the dwellings.

In line with the strict demarcation of class devised by the Tokugawa Shogunate, farmers were only permitted to build single-story houses with thatched roofs, and they were not allowed to have front gates or entrance halls. Merchants lived in close-packed two-story buildings opened to the street and were restricted to the less posh southern part of town.

Earthen embankments separated the communities to prevent fires from spreading and to serve as a bulwark in the case of attack. Each dwelling in the samurai district has a front garden and is enclosed by a black wooden fence or hedgerow. The grounds of a high-ranking family might cover the area of a football field.

Prestige and Precaution

The first samurai to settle in Kakunodate was the head of the Ishiguro family, who arrived in the early 1600s at the behest of superiors. Today, too, there is an Ishiguro-san who plays an important role in the town. The estate was nothing special by Western aristocratic standards, but in the world of samurai, it conferred dignity and authority.

Trees and a leafy garden gave privacy. The house has three entries-one for samurai, one for the lower classes, and one for VIPs and occasions such as weddings. Guests would be seated in order of rank, with the most important the furthest from the door–and therefore least likely to be killed by an assailant.

Another clan, the Aoyagi, had a spectacular, highly decorated gate, a powerful symbol of their prestige. At the side of the gate are "warrior windows" (mushamado) that enabled the inhabitants to watch those outside without being seen.

The entrance hall was made with deliberately low ceilings so that enemies would find it hard to brandish their swords. Latticed windows allowed the family to see guests before they entered the reception area, and there was a secret staircase to an upper room. You could never be too careful about your visitors.

Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, which lasted from 1603 to 1868, Kakunodate's samurai maintained their armory of swords and muskets–many of which are on view today. However, there was no large-scale warfare to keep them busy, and, like samurai elsewhere, they turned to scientific and artistic pursuits.

Western Learning

While the Ishiguro clan was noted for its knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, the Aoyagi were perhaps the most interesting group. Naotake Odano was a samurai from Kakunodate with family ties to the Aoyagi. A talented artist, he specialized in Akita ranga, a drawing method influenced by Dutch art.

He is also well-known for illustrating the translation into Japanese of a Dutch book on anatomy published in 1774. Japanese physicians labored for years to complete the translation. It followed the dissection of a corpse, which famously confirmed that the book of Dutch medicine contained accurate representations of human anatomy-and by extension that Western science was the key to Western power.

In an era of rigid hierarchies, Odano is said to have made the comment, "All humans are equal when their bodies are dissected." The gallery dedicated to him in the house is well worth viewing.

The Shogun's Mountain Highway

It is hard to believe that the Nakasendo, meaning "the central mountain route", was once one of the two main arteries that linked Edo (now Tokyo) to Kyoto, the then capital city. Today, the population is sparse, though supplemented by Japanese and foreign tourists and hikers.

Most of the 540-kilometer path has disappeared into the mists of time, leaving the two staging posts of Tsumago and Magome as reminders of the area's historic function. Tsumago in particular has been carefully restored, and the hospitality is first-rate, with welcoming ryokans (Japanese inns) and fresh perch from the ponds.

Back in the days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, a steady traffic flow was guaranteed. The alternate attendance system required the daimyo (feudal lords) and their samurai retinues to spend time in Edo as well as in their own domains. Under the gaze of the Shogun and his spies, they would find it hard to hatch conspiracies against him and would be more likely to weaken their finances in the fleshpots of his city.

Once in a while, there would be a special event, such as the 1839 funeral cortege of the lord of Owari returning to his domain. An escort of 1,670 men overflowed the Magome Honjin (a kind of official inn), and the 700 porters in regular service had to be increased by another 1,000.

The managers of the honjin did not have samurai status, but as a reward for long service, they were allowed to have a surname and carry a sword–privileges not open to ordinary people.

Defense in a Time of Peace

Even in times of peace, you should be on guard. Feudal lords brought their food with them in case of poisoning. In the Tsumago Honjin, there is an L-shaped room made purposely large so that enemies could not reach the important guests, even with long spears from the porch. The street is curved in a masugata style, which prevents attackers from seeing the entire length of the town and forces them to slow down.

The journey through the steep mountains and valleys was made deliberately difficult, with no wheeled transport allowed. The last thing the Shogun wanted was a large, fast-moving military force coming his way.

The main business of the Kiso area, where Tsumago and Magome are located, was logging, but you had to be sure you felled the right tree. The wood of five noble trees–the Japanese cypress, the Sawara cypress, the umbrella pine, the hiba, and the nezuko–was reserved for the elites. The punishment for disobedience was decapitation.

Others walked the Nakasendo for different reasons. Haiku poet Matsuo Basho went there to explore the natural beauty, and the country people raised a stone tablet in his name. Woodblock master Utagawa Hiroshige was probably seeking inspiration for his next project. Emperor Meiji used the route that came into use in 1880, as it was still a viable way to get from Kyoto to the city that would be renamed Tokyo.

Before the Dawn of Modern Japan

A good way to appreciate the disorienting changes that Japan experienced before and after the Meiji Restoration from the perspective of the Nakasendo is to read the historical novel Before the Dawn by Toson Shimazaki. Toson, a well-known writer who spent several years in France, was also the son of the man who ran the Magome Honjin in the 1860s.

Toson never knew his father, but the novel is a remarkable recreation of the era that brings to life both great events, such as the arrival of the Black Ships and the opening of Yokohama, and family tragedies.

Later in life, he returned to Magome, and a small museum in his honor was established there.

Half-novel, half-historical record, the book deserves to be much better known outside Japan.