Chiba has been nourishing lives and cultures of people since the prehistorical era, backed by satoyama and satoumi, or forested hills and coastal sea that people tenderly interacted with as the sustainable environment. Chiba is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. The sites in Chiba include relics from the Paleolithic era of about 30,000 years ago, kitchen middens of the Jomon Era of some 10,000 years ago.
The name of Chiba in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The first, 千, means “thousand” and the second, 葉 means “leaves”. The name first appears as an ancient kuni no miyatsuko, or regional command office, as the Chiba Kuni no Miyatsuko . The name was adopted by a branch of the Taira clan, which moved to the area in present-day Chiba City in the late Heian period. The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the Chiba clan, which held strong influence over the area of the prefecture until the Azuchi–Momoyama period.Read More
The first records related to the city of Chiba record the emigration of Taira Tsuneshige (1083?–1088), a powerful bushi warlord of the late Heian period, to Shimōsa Province, which historically occupied the north of Chiba Prefecture. Tsuneshige was appointed as gunji administrator of Sōma District, but was transferred to the same position in Chiba District two years later. Here he proclaimed himself Chiba Tsuneshige , became a kokushi governor of the province, and used the area around present-day Chiba City as a power base to rule over Shimōsa Province, Kazusa Province, as well as establish himself as a military force in the Kantō region. Tsuneshige built a spacious residence and numerous temples in present-day Chiba City, and in the same period he transferred his power base from Ōji Castle to Inohana Castle on Mount Inohana.
The Chiba clan’s power and influence declined because of wars around the Kantō region during the Nanboku-cho and Muromachi periods. In the 16th century, instead of the Chiba clan, the Hara clan, which was one of the servants of Chiba clan, wielded power in this region. In the Sengoku period, the Hara clan was forcibly removed by Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Then, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was also removed by the Sakai clan, which was one of the servants of the Satomi clan. Finally both the Chiba and Sakai clans were annihilated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
After the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and the advent of the railroad in Japan Chiba became the political, economic, and cultural capital of the Chiba Prefecture. Chiba became a Designated City of Japan on April 1, 1992.
Places Not To Miss:
Sakura Samurai Street:Read
Sakura City is in the northern part of Chiba Prefecture. . In 1611, Doi Toshikatsu, who held the important post of roju at that time, constructed Sakura Castle, taking seven years complete it. There is a street of old samurai residents surrounded by mounds and hedges in Miyakoji-Machi in the east of the ruins of the castle. Three residential buildings on this street, such as the former Kawara House, the former Tajima House and the former Takei House, are some of the oldest samurai residents remaining in Sakura City, and are open to the public.
Samurai house street has the traces of old Sakura, a castle town. The earthwork and planting fences built along the road remind us of bygone days. Because the three houses differed in rank and value of fief, you can get an idea of the variation of the lives of samurai by comparing these housing buildings.
Oyama Senmaida Rice Terraces:Read
The Oyama Senmaida rice field extends upwards along the narrow street in Kamogawa City, it is a beautiful rice terrace created between heavily forested hills. Its approximately 400 layers are preserved through the hard work of local farmers as well as urban dwellers who have decided to take up farming in recent years.
Other than the rice terraces there are sights nearby like Nihon-ji, a Buddhist temple in the nearby town of Kyonan, famous for its 18th century Daibutsu. Nihon-ji has been destroyed