Gifu · City
Nakatsugawa
中津川市なかつがわしNakatsugawa-shiMagome, Tōson's post town, and the chestnut sweets of the Nakasendō
Nakatsugawa is a city in the far east of Gifu Prefecture on the old Nakasendō highway, best known for Magome-juku, the stone-paved hillside post town where the novelist Shimazaki Tōson was born and from which the classic walk over Magome Pass leads to Tsumago in Nagano; the city is also the home of kuri-kinton chestnut sweets.
Overview
Nakatsugawa lies in the Tōnō region of eastern Gifu, where the Kiso River leaves the mountains of the Kiso Valley. In the Edo period it was a double post town on the Nakasendō: Nakatsugawa-juku, the 45th station, was a busy market town, and to the north the road climbed through Ochiai-juku to Magome, the southernmost of the eleven post towns of the Kiso road. Today the city stretches from the foothills of Mount Ena (2,191 m) north to the forests of Kashimo and Tsukechi.
Magome belonged to Nagano Prefecture until 2005, when the village of Yamaguchi, across the old prefectural boundary, merged into Nakatsugawa; the border moved to Magome Pass. The post town is built along a steep slope of about 600 metres, paved with stones to prevent erosion and broken by a right-angled masugata bend. Most of its houses were rebuilt after fires in 1895 and 1915, faithfully in the old style, with inns, shops and small restaurants and a view east to the Central Alps.
Magome was the birthplace of Shimazaki Tōson, whose novel Before the Dawn (Yoake mae) portrays the post town during the Meiji Restoration and begins with the line 'The Kiso road lies entirely in the mountains.' The Tōson Memorial Museum stands on the site of his family's honjin. From Magome, the preserved Nakasendō trail leads about 8 km over Magome Pass to Tsumago-juku in Nagiso, one of the most popular historic walks in Japan.
Landmarks
Magome-juku
馬籠宿Magome-jukuHillside post town of the Kiso road with a stone-paved slope, inns, shops and views of the Central Alps.
Tōson Memorial Museum
藤村記念館Tōson KinenkanMuseum on the site of the Shimazaki family honjin, with manuscripts and belongings of the novelist.
- 馬籠峠Magome-tōge
The 790-metre pass on the Nakasendō, now the border between Gifu and Nagano, crossed on the walk to Tsumago.
Naegi Castle ruins
苗木城跡Naegi-jō AtoStone walls built onto huge granite boulders above the Kiso River, seat of the small Naegi domain; a National Historic Site with wide views.
Ochiai stone pavement
落合の石畳Ochiai no IshidatamiSurviving stretch of Edo-period stone paving on the Nakasendō between Ochiai and Magome.
- 加子母明治座Kashimo Meiji-za
Wooden rural kabuki theatre of the Meiji period in the forest village of Kashimo, still used by local amateur troupes.
Tsukechi Gorge
付知峡Tsukechi-kyōGorge of clear water, waterfalls and hinoki forest in the north of the city.
Districts
Magome
馬籠MagomeThe hillside post town and the hamlets on the old road towards the pass.
Nakatsugawa-juku
中津川宿Nakatsugawa-jukuThe old town centre near the station, with merchant houses and confectioners.
Ochiai
落合OchiaiThe 44th post town, with a restored honjin gate and stone-paved section of the road.
Naegi
苗木NaegiFormer castle town on the north bank of the Kiso River.
Kashimo and Tsukechi
加子母・付知Kashimo, TsukechiForest valleys in the north, sources of hinoki timber for shrines and temples.
History
Nakatsugawa grew as a crossroads of the Nakasendō and routes to the Ina valley and Hida. After the Tokugawa organised the highway in the early seventeenth century, Magome, Ochiai and Nakatsugawa became post towns, and the small Naegi domain governed the area north of the Kiso River from its castle built on granite boulders. Nakatsugawa was also a centre of kokugaku, the nativist learning that fed the loyalist movement of the 1860s described in Tōson's novel.
The Chūō Line reached the town in 1902, bypassing Magome. Nakatsugawa became a city in 1952 and grew with manufacturing; in 2005 it absorbed several villages of Ena District and, across the prefectural border, Yamaguchi village with Magome, making it one of the few municipal mergers in Japan to move a prefectural boundary.
1602
The Nakasendō is organised with post towns, including Magome, Ochiai and Nakatsugawa.
1872
Shimazaki Tōson is born at the honjin of Magome.
1895
A fire destroys much of Magome-juku.
1902
The Chūō Line reaches Nakatsugawa.
1915
A second great fire sweeps Magome; the town is rebuilt.
1929–1935
Tōson publishes Before the Dawn, set in Magome during the Restoration.
1952
Nakatsugawa becomes a city.
2005
Yamaguchi village, including Magome, moves from Nagano to Gifu and merges into Nakatsugawa.
Culture
Nakatsugawa's culture is that of the old highway and the mountains: post-town hospitality, ji-kabuki (rural kabuki) performed by villagers in wooden theatres, and the confectioners' craft that turned local chestnuts into a nationally known sweet. The memory of Shimazaki Tōson is central to Magome's identity. In the forests of Kashimo, timber for shrines and temples, including cypress for the Ise Grand Shrine, is still harvested.
Festivals
- 地歌舞伎ji-kabuki
Villagers stage rural kabuki at the Kashimo Meiji-za and other local theatres, usually in autumn.
Chestnut season
栗きんとんの季節kuri-kinton no kisetsuFrom September, confectioners across the city sell freshly made kuri-kinton, and visitors go from shop to shop comparing them.
Food
- 栗きんとんkuri-kinton
Nakatsugawa's signature sweet of steamed chestnut and sugar shaped in a cloth, made by the town's confectioners from late summer into winter.
- 五平餅gohei-mochi
Grilled rice cakes on skewers with a sauce of walnut, sesame and miso, sold along Magome's slope.
- 朴葉寿司hōba-zushi
Rice wrapped in fresh magnolia leaves, an early-summer home dish of the Tōnō region.
Hebo
へぼheboWasp larvae cooked in sweet soy sauce or with rice, a traditional autumn delicacy of eastern Gifu.
Getting around
- Nakatsugawa Station on the JR Chūō Main Line is served by Shinano limited expresses and rapid trains from Nagoya in about an hour to an hour and a quarter.
- Buses run from Nakatsugawa Station to Magome in about twenty-five minutes, and from Magome to Tsumago.
- Highway buses from Nagoya stop near Magome and at Nakatsugawa.
- Luggage can be forwarded between the tourist offices of Magome and Tsumago for those walking the trail.
Day trips
The Nakasendō walk of about 8 km over Magome Pass ends in the preserved post town of Tsumago.
One of Japan's three famous hot springs, by road over the mountains to the north-west.
Castle town on the Kiso River downstream, via Nagoya or by road.
The regional metropolis, about an hour by train.
Other cities in the prefecture
Frequently asked questions
Is Magome in Gifu or Nagano?
In Gifu. Magome belonged to Yamaguchi village in Nagano until 2005, when the village merged into Nakatsugawa; the prefectural border now runs over Magome Pass.
Which direction is best for the Magome–Tsumago walk?
Most walkers start in Magome, because the route then climbs about 200 m to the pass and descends gently to Tsumago; the walk of about 8 km takes two and a half to three and a half hours.
Who was Shimazaki Tōson?
A novelist and poet (1872–1943), born into the family that ran Magome's honjin; his novel Before the Dawn portrays his father's generation in the post town during the Meiji Restoration.
What is kuri-kinton?
A simple sweet of steamed chestnuts and sugar, shaped by twisting in a cloth; Nakatsugawa's confectioners have made it famous, and it is sold fresh in autumn.
Related
Sources
- 1.中津川市 (opens in a new tab) — 中津川市 (Nakatsugawa City)
- 2.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — 総務省統計局 (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
- 3.妻籠宿 (opens in a new tab) — 妻籠観光協会
- 4.Japan National Tourism Organization (opens in a new tab) — JNTO