A Brief History Of The Tohoku Region, Hot Springs Walking Tour Of The North - Arriving in Akita, Japan
A Brief History Of The Tohoku Region, Hot Springs Walking Tour Of The North - Arriving in Akita, Japan
When it came time for our annual long walk, we chose to return to Japan.
It is easy for us to walk in Japan, because we can get by with our little knowledge of the Japanese language, and we know how to navigate the country, after having already done so many pilgrimages and long walks around Japan.
Instead of following a traditional established pilgrimage route, we decided to be unique and to design a route of our own.
We also wanted to walk through an area that was unfamiliar to us, in order to make it more exciting and new.
Since we have already walked around Kyushu Island, and around the island of Shikoku, and around most of the main island of Japan called Honshu, we decided this time to walk around Tohoku.
Tōhoku is "the North East Region," in the northern part of the island of Honshu.
The name is a description of its location.
Tōhoku in Japanese terminology is a combination of two kanji characters: "東" (tō), meaning "east," and "北" (hoku), meaning "north".
The Tōhoku region of Japan has a rich and distinct history, shaped by its geography, indigenous cultures, and relative isolation from the political centers of Kyoto and Tokyo.
The meaning of the word “Tohoku” has expanded to include all of the north western side of the island of Honshu as well.
In ancient times, Tōhoku was home to the Emishi, a group of indigenous people distinct from the Japanese of the Yamato court. They lived in what is now northern Honshu and resisted the expansion of the imperial state.
During the 8th and 9th centuries, the Yamato imperial court, based in Nara, launched a military campaign to bring Tōhoku under central control.
One of the major battles involved the suppression of the Emishi people, who tried to resist.
Many of them escaped farther north into the Hokkaido region, which was rural, raw, heavily forested and populated by huge bears and foxes.
As a side fact, right before we came to Japan, I had been reading in the news about several incidents of bear attacks and even a few deaths related to bear attacks, in the exact same region that we will be walking in!
While the central government succeeded in established some control, Tōhoku remained peripheral and somewhat autonomous.
Powerful samurai clans, such as the Abe and Kiyohara families, dominated local politics in the region.
The “Nine Years’ War” was a period of clan warfare in Japan, that lasted from 1051–1063.
Later, in the “Three Years’ War” (1083–1087), there were also major conflicts in the Tōhoku region between local clans and central forces.
During the Feudal Period, (Muromachi to the Edo Periods, 1336–1868), one of the most famous Tōhoku clans, the Date clan, rose to prominence.
Known as the “One-Eyed Dragon,” a powerful and ambitious daimyo built Sendai and sought international ties (even sending a delegation to Europe in 1613).
Under the Tokugawa shogunate in the Edo period, (1603–1868), Tōhoku was divided into various domains.
It was still remote, but it had become a strategic area due to its prolific rice production.
Tōhoku was somewhat neglected during Japan’s rapid modernization and industrialization in the Meiji era, the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It remained largely agricultural and rural, with slower economic growth compared to areas like Tokyo, Osaka, or Nagoya.
This disparity contributed to poverty, many people relocating to bigger cities, and the area established a reputation as a remote backwater in national politics and culture.
So why did we decide to explore this region?
Because the Tohoku region of Japan is also home to unspoiled rural landscapes, unique hot springs, and historical treasures, outdoor adventures, pristine forests, rocky seascapes and endless powder snow in the winter.
We decided to come in Autumn, when the trees are changing the color of their leaves, and the forests are aflame with bright colors.
What actually happened, is that Japan was experiencing the hottest summer in its history, and the heat of summer has not been quick to ease its grip on the land.
After spending two blissful months diving in Bali, we flew to Bangkok, picked up our pilgrimage backpacks with all of our warm clothes, and flew to Tokyo.
We landed in Tokyo late in the evening, and were blasted by a heat wave that felt hotter than Bangkok.
We consoled ourselves that it would not be like that in the north.
We are starting our walk in Akita, located way north and usually cold in October and already covered in snow by December.
We had packed lined fleece jackets, warm down jackets, warm hats and gloves, and raincoats, because we were told it rains frequently in the north.
We stayed overnight in a hotel in Tokyo, then took the Shinkansen (bullet train) train to Akita.
After settling into our room, we went for a walk around Senshu Park, the site of the ruins of an ancient castle fortress and moat, and a beautiful park with a shrine and a big pond full of lotus flowers.
We met an older gentleman in Senshu Park walking a rather shy and playful Akita dog, and a few other Akita dogs who were more animated and loud.
We will be staying in Akita for the next three nights.
We plan to walk forwards on our route to ease our first few days of walking, and to see the sights of this city, which we have never visited before.
Our hotel stay included our breakfasts and dinners.
The chef arranged an excellent buffet dinner, welcoming the arrival of autumn, with a menu featuring sweet potatoes, chestnuts, pumpkins, and many other local ingredients.
It was an all you can eat, tempting feast, and we tried to take only small portions of anything we wanted to try, in order to keep the weight loss that we have achieved after months of diving and dieting in Bali.
Despite the fact that I already miss all the little creatures that I photograph in the sea, we are excited to be walking again.
Sending you love and light,
Tali
Walked today - 7km.
