And an atmosphere that makes you feel the history. Yakage town flourished as a village of old style inns of the old Sanyo Road during the Edo period(1603-1868).
You can find nostalgia for old Japan along the street that has not changed for more than 400 years.
Haruhiko Kaneko
The meaning of our town name is “Hang an arrow”. It is said more than 1600 years ago The Yamato Kingship dispatched a legendary hero Kibitsuhiko to Kibi County for the peace settlement. He shot the arrow and it hung on a large tree in this area. The town’s name followed this legend.
Kibitsuhiko suppressed the Kibi County and later he has been recognized as a main character of the Japanese folklore “Momotaro”.
During the Edo period (1603-1868), Yakage worked as a village of old style inns. After the long period of Civil War the Edo Government introduced a system called alternative attendance (Sankin Koutai)to let feudal lords to stay one year in Edo (Tokyo) and one year in their domains. A village of old style inns like Yakage played an important role for smooth transactions in those days. This system worked quite effectively in stabilizing the society.
On the street of our town I wish you to imagine the scenery of hustle and bustle by more than 800 procession members staying at Yakage. On the second Sunday of every November you can even observe a reenactment of the feudal lord’s procession parade.
Please visit our Yakage town that gives you an unique opportunity to learn first-hand Japanese history.
H.Kaneko
Chairman Yakage DMO
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