Many of the today’s significant cities in Japan were established during the medieval period as “castle towns". Called Jōkamachi (meaning “town below the castle"), these towns were housing the lord’s retainers, but they were also populated by merchants and craftsmen.

After the Meiji period, when many castles were demolished, most of the castle towns were modernized, so today there are only a few places preserving the original Jōkamachi atmosphere. Photographed here is a street in Inuyama, Aichi, close to the Inuyama Castle, one of the most important surviving Japanese castles.

Inuyama castle town

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Japanese arts and crafts, Noh costume and mask