Nagano · Town
Nagiso
南木曽町なぎそまちNagiso-machiTsumago, the best-preserved post town of the Kiso road
Nagiso is a small forest town in the Kiso Valley of Nagano Prefecture, best known for Tsumago-juku, the 42nd post town of the Nakasendō, which its residents saved from decay from the late 1960s and which is now one of the most completely preserved Edo-period townscapes in Japan and the northern end of the classic walk from Magome.
Overview
Nagiso lies at the southern end of the Kiso Valley, where the Kiso River runs between the Central Alps and the forested mountains of the Ena range. The town was formed in 1961 by merging the villages of Yomikaki, Azuma and Tadachi, and almost all of its area is forest, much of it the famous Kiso hinoki cypress. Its fame, however, rests on a single street: Tsumago-juku, in the former village of Azuma.
Tsumago was the 42nd of the 69 post towns on the Nakasendō, the inland highway between Edo and Kyoto, and one of the eleven on the Kiso road. When the railway bypassed it in the Meiji era, the town declined and its old houses survived largely because no one could afford to replace them. From the late 1960s the residents began one of Japan's first community-led preservation movements, adopting a charter under which houses in the post town would not be sold, rented out or demolished. In 1976 Tsumago became one of the first national Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, and the protected area includes the surrounding fields and forests.
Today the street of dark wooden inns, lattice fronts and overhanging eaves has no visible power lines or modern signs. Tsumago is the northern end of the Magome–Tsumago walk, a section of the old Nakasendō of about 8 km over Magome Pass to Magome-juku in neighbouring Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture. Other sights in the town include the Momosuke Bridge, a long timber suspension bridge of 1922, and the woodturning workshops of Araragi.
Landmarks
Tsumago-juku
妻籠宿Tsumago-jukuEdo-period post town of wooden inns and shops along the Nakasendō, preserved as a whole together with its surrounding landscape.
Waki-honjin Okuya
脇本陣奥谷Waki-honjin OkuyaSecondary inn for officials, rebuilt in 1877 in hinoki cypress once the felling ban was lifted; an Important Cultural Property with a local history museum.
Tsumago Honjin
妻籠宿本陣Tsumago-juku HonjinReconstruction of the official inn for daimyo and court nobles, part of the Nagiso town museum.
Momosuke Bridge
桃介橋Momosuke-bashiTimber suspension bridge of about 248 m across the Kiso River, built in 1922; an Important Cultural Property.
Odaki and Medaki
男滝・女滝Odaki, MedakiTwin waterfalls on the Nakasendō trail below Magome Pass, a setting in Yoshikawa Eiji's novel Musashi.
Ichikokutochi Tateba Chaya
一石栃立場茶屋Ichikokutochi Tateba ChayaAn old rest house for travellers on the trail, where walkers are traditionally offered tea by the hearth.
Kakizore Gorge
柿其渓谷Kakizore KeikokuClear emerald river pools and waterfalls among granite boulders in the north of the town.
Districts
Tsumago
妻籠TsumagoThe preserved post town and its hamlets along the old road.
Ōtsumago
大妻籠ŌtsumagoSmall hamlet of old inns with deep eaves on the trail south of Tsumago.
Araragi
蘭AraragiMountain village known for woven hinoki hats and woodturning.
Yomikaki
読書YomikakiArea around Nagiso Station and the Momosuke Bridge; its name, meaning 'reading and writing', comes from the merger of three older villages.
Tadachi
田立TadachiSouthern district on the Gifu border, known for its waterfalls and the flower-horse festival.
History
The Kiso road through the valley was an important route from the early medieval period, and Tsumago appears as a castle and settlement in the Warring States period. Under the Tokugawa the Nakasendō was organised with post towns, and Tsumago provided inns, porters and horses for travellers and daimyo processions; the valley's forests were strictly protected by the Owari domain, which forbade the felling of the 'five trees of Kiso'.
The Chūō Line, opened through the valley in the early twentieth century, followed the river rather than the old road, and Tsumago was left behind. In 1922 the industrialist Fukuzawa Momosuke built the Yomikaki hydroelectric station and the timber suspension bridge that bears his name. Preservation of Tsumago began in 1968, a residents' charter protected the houses, and in 1976 the town was among the first designated Preservation Districts. The honjin, the inn for daimyo, was reconstructed in 1995.
1602
The Tokugawa begin organising the Nakasendō with its post towns.
1877
The Hayashi family rebuilds the Waki-honjin Okuya in hinoki cypress.
1922
Fukuzawa Momosuke completes the Momosuke Bridge for the Yomikaki power station.
1961
Nagiso town is formed from the villages of Yomikaki, Azuma and Tadachi.
1968
Residents begin the preservation of Tsumago-juku.
1976
Tsumago becomes one of the first national Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
1995
The Tsumago honjin is reconstructed.
Culture
Tsumago's preservation is a community achievement: the residents' association decides on building rules, the street is kept free of modern signage, and many inns are still family-run minshuku with shared baths and meals. Crafts include Nagiso rokuro-zaiku, lacquered woodturned bowls and trays made from local zelkova and other hardwoods, designated a traditional craft of Japan, and hats woven from thin strips of hinoki in Araragi. The Kiso Valley's forests of hinoki have long supplied timber for the rebuilding of the Ise Grand Shrine.
Festivals
Bunka-Bunsei Fūzoku Emaki Procession
文化文政風俗絵巻之行列Bunka Bunsei Fūzoku Emaki no GyōretsuIn November, residents parade through Tsumago in the costumes of travellers, officials and townspeople of the early nineteenth century.
Tadachi Hanauma Matsuri
田立の花馬祭りTadachi no Hanauma MatsuriIn October, horses decorated with paper flowers are led to the shrine in Tadachi; spectators take the flowers home as charms.
Food
- 五平餅gohei-mochi
Pounded rice on a flat skewer, grilled with a sweet sauce of walnut, sesame and miso – the snack of the Kiso road.
- 栗きんとんkuri-kinton
Autumn sweets of mashed chestnut and sugar, shared with Nakatsugawa across the border.
- そばsoba
Buckwheat noodles served in Tsumago's old inns and restaurants.
- 朴葉寿司hōba-zushi
Rice with toppings wrapped in fresh magnolia leaves, made in early summer.
Getting around
- Nagiso Station on the JR Chūō Main Line is served by local trains and some Shinano limited expresses between Nagoya and Matsumoto; Tsumago is a few kilometres away by local bus, taxi or roughly an hour's walk on the old road.
- Buses link Tsumago and Magome, and via Magome with Nakatsugawa Station.
- Luggage-forwarding services between the tourist offices of Magome and Tsumago allow the trail to be walked with a light pack.
Day trips
The partner post town across Magome Pass, reached on foot along the Nakasendō in three hours or so.
The highest peak of the Central Alps, reached by ropeway from Komagane.
Castle town at the northern end of the Kiso road, by Chūō Line.
The sacred volcano west of the Kiso Valley.
Other cities in the prefecture
Frequently asked questions
Where is Tsumago?
Tsumago-juku is in the town of Nagiso in the Kiso Valley, in the south-west of Nagano Prefecture, a few kilometres from Nagiso Station.
How long is the walk from Magome to Tsumago?
About 8 km along the old Nakasendō over Magome Pass (790 m); most walkers need two and a half to three and a half hours. Starting in Magome means more downhill.
Why is Tsumago so well preserved?
The railway bypassed it and the town was too poor to rebuild; from the late 1960s residents organised to restore it, pledged not to sell, rent out or demolish the houses, and in 1976 it became a national Preservation District.
Is there accommodation in Tsumago?
Yes. Family-run minshuku and ryokan in the old houses offer overnight stays with dinner and breakfast; staying the night lets visitors see the street after the day visitors leave.
Are there bears on the Nakasendō trail?
Asian black bears live in the Kiso forests; bells are provided along the trail to be rung as walkers pass.
Related
Sources
- 1.南木曽町 (opens in a new tab) — 南木曽町 (Nagiso Town)
- 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