Old Town Makabe

Makabe-cho, Sakuragawa City, is located at the northern foot of Mt. Tsukuba, and retains much of its Edo Period castle town layout (zoning). Historical buildings from the Edo period to the early Showa period have been well preserved in Makabe and surrounding areas, and 102 have been designated as national registered cultural properties.

At the end of the Warring States period, the Makabe clan, a feudal lord, built a castle town around their residence, Makabe Castle. During the Edo period (1603-1867), the town flourished as a cotton distribution hub, purchasing cotton from the Kansai region and selling it to the Tohoku region. And later, the town further developed through the silk reeling industry that emerged in the Meiji period (1868-1912).

More than 300 merchant storehouses, warehouses, and gates, as well as townhouses and Western-style buildings from the Taisho and early Showa periods, are still standing today. The former Makabe Post Office in the town center exemplifies the simple design of the early Showa period. It has been a landmark of the town from the prewar period to the present.

In addition, every year from early February to early March, the "Makabe Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival)" is held, and has become an early spring tradition. As a hospitality to visitors to the town during the cold season, approximately 160 houses in the town display hina dolls in each house, adding a touch of glamor to the historic townscape.