- DISCOVER AICHI
SAMURAI HOMELAND‚ AICHI
Located in the middle of Japan, Aichi Prefecture was at the center of the Sengoku, or Warring States period. It’s where many important samurai battles took place, and where many samurai heroes, including the nations’ Three Unifiers, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu were born. About 70% of the nation’ ruling Daimyo war-lords of the early Edo Period (1603-1868) came from the Aichi area!
Aichi was dotted with over 3,600 samurai castles of various size and importance. With the construction of the mighty Nagoya Castle in 1610, Aichi, prospered, particularly as the nations’ Imperial court was in Kyoto,and the Shogun’s seat of government was in Edo (Tokyo) and right in the middle was Aichi. Nine of the 53 checkpoints and post towns along the strategically and financially important Tokaidohighwaywere in Aichi. This made Aichi a cultural and economic hub.It also led to Aichi’s traditional handcrafts, including Seto-yaki and Tokoname pottery and ceramics, and Arimatsu Narumi Shibori,textiles embellished with intricate patterns of tie-dyed cloth,becoming prized nationwide.