Article

20451 ／あさひむら

Nagano Prefecture 東筑摩郡

Asahi Village

Six columns make the front five bays.

Korinji Yakushido, five-bay hall

Photo by とみちゃん78 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Dosojin stealing

The custom of stealing dosojin stoneswas also called "matchmaking" or "marrying in."

The village says the dosojin of Ashinokubo was stolen in 1795 by Yamagata Village and in 1842 by Seba in Shiojiri City; the one standing now was erected in 1843. An old diary records that "about three sho of sake" was left where the stone had been. Later, people of Ashinokubo went to Yamaguchi to celebrate, taking two barrels of sake and more.

Stolen in 1795 (Yamagata Village) and 1842 (Seba, Shiojiri City), per the village
The present stone was erected in 1843 (Tenpo 14)
31 dosojin in the village (village list)

02 ／ Takei Castle ruins

Six vertical moats run off a horizontal moat,spaced apart down the slope.

A Prefectural Historic Site (designated February 20, 1992). The village says that on the western slope six vertical moats run down from a horizontal moat, and that the ridge south of the main enclosure is cut by a great trench about 5 m deep. Said to have been built by the Mimura clan in the Kamakura period, it may also have been reworked by the Takeda clan.

Prefectural Historic Site, designated February 20, 1992
Six vertical moats on the western slope
Great trench on the southern ridge, about 5 m deep

03 ／ Stone Buddhas of Korinji

The stone Buddhas lined up behind the hallare recorded as the "188-site Buddhas."

Stone Buddhas of Korinji in Asahi Village — Photo by とみちゃん78 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Stone Buddhas stand in a row behind Korinji Yakushido. The village's 2017 profile booklet lists the "188-site Buddhas behind Korinji Yakushido" among the stone figures that remain in the village. Korinji is said to have begun with the Furuyakushi opened by Gyoki in the Nara period.

"188-site Buddhas behind Korinji Yakushido" (village profile booklet 2017)
Said to have begun with the Furuyakushi opened by Gyoki in the Nara period (village profile booklet)

Asahi Village from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot September 2023)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

No railway station; about 87% of the village is forest.

about 4,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the village. A village bus, the Hirooka line, runs from JR Hirooka Station in Shiojiri City (weekdays and Saturdays). The village measures 15.84 km east to west and 9.89 km north to south, with an area of 70.62 km², of which about 87% is forest. The Kusari River flows through the center of the village, watering the fields on both banks before joining the Narai River. The gateway is Asahi Village Office.

People living here: 4,279people
Area: 70.62km²
Households: 1,474households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —1 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Asahi Village in Japan36.129°N 137.867°E

Territory of Asahi Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

10.5km

Shiojiri City, Matsumoto City, Yamagata Village, Kiso Village

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Asahi Village isthis kind of town.

01Korinji Yakushido in Nishiseba is a Prefectural Treasure, a "five-bay hall" with six columns across a front five bays wide. Its large roof is thatched, and a ridge tablet shows it was built in 1760 (Horeki 10). Behind it stand stone Buddhas that the village profile booklet records as the "188-site Buddhas."
02The dosojin of Ashinokubo is a case in which the custom of stealing dosojin stones survives in an inscription and an old diary. It was stolen in 1795 by Yamagata Village and in 1842 by Seba in Shiojiri City, and the present stone was erected in 1843. The village says the custom was closely tied to marriage at the time.
03Takei Castle ruins, a Prefectural Historic Site, is characterized by six vertical moats on its western slope and a great trench about 5 m deep. The village also has the Kumakubo site of the middle Jomon period, where the village profile booklet says more than 100 dwelling sites were found.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Asahi Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

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