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Ibaraki · Capital · Core city

Mito

水戸市みとしMito-shi

Plum blossom, scholarship and the Mito Tokugawa

Mito is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture and the former castle town of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa family. It is best known for Kairakuen, one of Japan's three celebrated landscape gardens, for the Kodokan domain school and for natto.

Overview

Mito lies on a narrow plateau between the Naka River to the north and Lake Senba to the south, about 100 km north-east of Tokyo. From 1609 to 1871 it was the seat of the Mito domain, one of the three senior branch houses of the Tokugawa, whose lords were close advisers to the shogun and, in the nineteenth century, prominent voices in national politics.

The domain's intellectual tradition – the Mito school, launched by Tokugawa Mitsukuni's history of Japan and carried on at the Kodokan academy – shaped the ideology of imperial loyalty that preceded the Meiji Restoration. Its most visible legacy is Kairakuen, the garden Tokugawa Nariaki opened in 1842 for the recreation of the townspeople, today counted with Kenrokuen in Kanazawa and Korakuen in Okayama among the three great gardens of Japan.

The modern city is Ibaraki's administrative and commercial centre, with the prefectural government, courts, a university and the Art Tower Mito cultural complex. Much of the old town was destroyed in an air raid in 1945, so its historic character survives mainly in the castle precinct, the Kodokan and the gardens around the lake.

Landmarks

  • Kairakuen

    偕楽園Kairakuen

    Hillside garden of about 3,000 plum trees in some 100 varieties, with a bamboo grove, cedar woods and views over Lake Senba.

  • Kobuntei

    好文亭Kōbuntei

    Nariaki's three-storey villa inside Kairakuen, reconstructed after 1945, with painted sliding doors and a view across the lake.

  • Kodokan

    弘道館Kōdōkan

    The domain school founded in 1841, where the last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu studied; its main hall is an Important Cultural Property.

  • Mito Castle site

    水戸城跡Mito-jō ato

    Earthen castle without a keep; dry moats, the Yakuimon gate and a reconstructed Otemon main gate survive in the Sannomaru school district.

  • Tokiwa Shrine

    常磐神社Tokiwa Jinja

    Shrine next to Kairakuen dedicated to Tokugawa Mitsukuni and Tokugawa Nariaki.

  • Tokugawa Museum

    徳川ミュージアムTokugawa Myūjiamu

    Collection of the Mito Tokugawa family: armour, swords, documents and the manuscripts of the Dai Nihonshi.

  • Art Tower Mito

    水戸芸術館Mito Geijutsukan

    Arts centre by Arata Isozaki (1990) with a contemporary art gallery, concert hall and theatre, marked by a 100 m twisted titanium tower.

  • Lake Senba

    千波湖Senba-ko

    Lake below Kairakuen with a lakeside path, swans and cherry trees; together with the garden it forms one of the largest urban parks in the world.

Districts

  • Sannomaru

    三の丸Sannomaru

    The former castle precinct, now home to schools, the Kodokan and the old prefectural office building.

  • Kairakuen and Senba

    千波Senba

    The green belt west of the station: garden, lake, Tokiwa Shrine and the prefectural museums.

  • Mito Station area

    The commercial centre around the north and south exits, with department stores and the main bus terminal.

  • Akatsuka

    赤塚Akatsuka

    Residential district in the west of the city around its own Joban Line station.

History

A fortress stood on the Mito plateau from the late twelfth century, held first by the Baba and later by the Edo family. In 1590 the Satake, lords of Hitachi, took the castle and made it their seat, but they were moved to Akita in 1602. Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Mito to his sons, and from 1609 Tokugawa Yorifusa founded the line of the Mito Tokugawa.

Under Mitsukuni and later Nariaki, Mito became a centre of scholarship and reform. Its politics were also violent: Mito samurai killed the regent Ii Naosuke in 1860, and the Tengu Party uprising of 1864 tore the domain apart in civil strife. After 1871 Mito became the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, and in 1889 it was one of the first places in Japan to receive city status.

  1. 1590

    The Satake take Mito castle and move their seat there from Ota.

  2. 1609

    Tokugawa Yorifusa, Ieyasu's eleventh son, becomes lord of Mito.

  3. 1657

    Tokugawa Mitsukuni begins the Dai Nihonshi, a history of Japan completed only in 1906.

  4. 1841

    Tokugawa Nariaki opens the Kodokan, one of the largest domain schools of the Edo period.

  5. 1842

    Kairakuen garden opens, intended for lords and townspeople alike.

  6. 1860

    Former Mito retainers assassinate Ii Naosuke at the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle.

  7. 1889

    Mito becomes a city under the new municipal system.

  8. 1945

    An air raid on 2 August destroys most of the city centre.

  9. 2011

    The Great East Japan Earthquake damages the Kodokan, Kairakuen and much of the city.

Culture

Mito's identity is bound up with the Mito Tokugawa and the figure of Mitsukuni, popularised as 'Mito Komon', the travelling retired lord of a long-running television drama. The city's calendar follows the plum blossom in early spring and the bush clover of Kairakuen in autumn. Art Tower Mito gives the city a strong programme of contemporary art and music, anchored by its resident Mito Chamber Orchestra.

Festivals

  • Mito Plum Festival

    水戸の梅まつりMito no Ume Matsuri

    From mid-February into March in Kairakuen and Kodokan, with tea ceremonies and the 'plum ambassadors'.

  • Mito Komon Festival

    水戸黄門まつりMito Kōmon Matsuri

    Summer festival in early August with parades, portable shrines and a fireworks display over Lake Senba.

  • Mito Bush Clover Festival

    水戸の萩まつりMito no Hagi Matsuri

    Held in September when Kairakuen's hagi (bush clover) is in bloom.

Food

  • Natto

    水戸納豆Mito nattō

    Small-bean natto sold in the traditional straw wrapping (waratsuto) as Mito's signature souvenir.

  • Anglerfish hotpot

    あんこう鍋ankō-nabe

    The winter speciality of the Ibaraki coast, widely served in Mito restaurants.

  • Mito no Ume

    水戸の梅Mito no Ume

    A classic local confection: sweet bean paste wrapped in a sugared shiso leaf.

  • Plum products

    梅干しumeboshi

    Pickled plums and plum wine linked to the city's plum-growing tradition.

Getting around

  • Mito Station is served by JR Joban Line limited expresses from Tokyo and Ueno (about 70–80 minutes) and by the JR Suigun Line to Fukuroda.
  • The Kashima Rinkai Railway Oarai-Kashima Line runs from Mito to the coast at Oarai and on to Kashima.
  • Kairakuen is a short bus ride or a walk of about 30 minutes from the station; a temporary station opens on the Joban Line during the plum festival.
  • Buses connect Mito with Ibaraki Airport and Tokyo; the city is on the Joban and Kita-Kanto expressways.

Day trips

  • Fukuroda Falls

    袋田の滝Fukuroda-no-taki

    Four-tiered waterfall in the Okukuji valley, about an hour by the JR Suigun Line.

  • Hitachi Seaside Park

    国営ひたち海浜公園Kokuei Hitachi Kaihin Kōen

    Coastal park in Hitachinaka famous for blue nemophila in spring and red kochia in autumn.

  • Oarai

    大洗Ōarai

    Port town with the Oarai Isosaki Shrine, whose torii stands on a rock in the surf, an aquarium and fish markets.

  • Kasama

    笠間Kasama

    Pottery town with Kasama Inari Shrine, one of Japan's three great Inari shrines.

  • Tsukuba

    Science city and Mount Tsukuba, about an hour by road to the south-west.

Other cities in the prefecture

CityTsukubaTsukuba-shiJapan's science city under a sacred mountain

Frequently asked questions

When do the plums bloom at Kairakuen?

Kairakuen has early and late varieties, so blossom runs from about mid-February to late March, with the peak usually in early March.

Is Kairakuen one of Japan's three great gardens?

Yes. It is traditionally counted with Kenrokuen in Kanazawa and Korakuen in Okayama as the three great gardens of Japan.

Why is Mito famous for natto?

Small soybeans suited to natto grow well in the area, and from the late nineteenth century natto was sold to railway travellers at Mito Station, making it the city's signature product.

Who was Mito Komon?

Mito Komon is the popular name of Tokugawa Mitsukuni, second lord of Mito. Legends and a long-running TV drama show him travelling Japan in disguise, righting wrongs.

Can Mito be visited as a day trip from Tokyo?

Yes. By limited express the journey takes about 70–80 minutes, enough to see Kairakuen, Kodokan and Lake Senba in a day.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.水戸市ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 水戸市 (Mito City)
  2. 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. 3.茨城県ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 茨城県 (Ibaraki Prefecture)
  4. 4.Japan National Tourism Organization (opens in a new tab) — JNTO

Editorial team · Published: