Jokamachi: The Castle Town
A jokamachi (literally “castle-below-town”) is the urban form that developed around Japan’s medieval castles from the 15th century onward: a planned settlement arranged by social function around the castle’s defensive perimeter, with samurai residences close to the castle, merchant and artisan districts at the commercial centre, and temple and shrine precincts positioned at the town’s edge as both spiritual institutions and outer defensive elements. Over three hundred castle towns shaped the urban geography of Japan during the Edo period; their plans remain legible in modern street grids, place names, and surviving historic districts even where the castle itself is gone.
Kanazawa: The Best-Preserved Jokamachi
Kanazawa, capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, is Japan’s most intact castle town precisely because it escaped both Meiji-era castle demolition and World War II bombing. The Kenroku-en garden (one of Japan’s three most celebrated gardens), Kanazawa Castle park, the Higashi Chaya (geisha district), the samurai residences of Nagamachi, and the Nishi Chaya are all within walking distance of each other and retain their Edo-period urban structure. The city’s prosperity under the Maeda domain — Japan’s most powerful feudal family after the Tokugawa shogunate — funded exceptional craft traditions in lacquerware, gold leaf, Kutani ware, and silk weaving that persist in current production.
Hagi: Samurai Quarter Intact
Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture preserves the most complete samurai residential quarter in Japan — the Horiuchi and Johekimachi districts contain dozens of samurai residences behind white earthen walls (dobei) with the original lot boundaries, gates, and garden walls intact. The town is also known as the origin of many Meiji Restoration leaders (the Choshu domain was central to the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate), and several historic residences of these figures are open to visitors. Hagi pottery (Hagi-yaki) — prized for its porous, tea-stained character — is produced in workshops throughout the castle town district.
Matsumoto: Mountain Castle Town
Matsumoto’s castle (Matsumoto-jo) is Japan’s oldest surviving original keep and one of only twelve remaining original castles (as opposed to postwar reconstructions). The black-and-white tower rising above the city’s mountain-ringed plain is one of Japan’s most photographed castles. The town below retains the structure of its Edo-period merchant district in the Nakamachi area, with kurazukuri storehouses (thick-walled merchant warehouses) converted to cafes and craft shops along their original street alignment.
Walking the Jokamachi
The most rewarding approach to a castle town is on foot, reading the urban form as a palimpsest of the original plan: the castle’s cardinal orientation in the landscape, the curved “misdirection” roads (masugata) designed to confuse attackers, the ditch lines of former moats converted to roads or remaining as parks, the concentration of Buddhist temples at cardinal compass points as outer defences. Kanazawa and Hagi both offer excellent free walking maps from their tourist information centres. Kanazawa’s loop bus (Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Loop Bus) connects all major sites; Hagi’s sites are more spread out and best combined with bicycle rental.