History of Sawara
Sawara is a historic town, where the prestigious Katori shrine is located. It is also a well-known water village blessed with rich natural resources. Sawara is closely connected with Tone river (also known as Bando Taro), and from ancient times to the middle ages, the area around Sawara was referred to as “The Sea of Katori,” which sourced the river systems of Kasumigaura, Kitaura, and Kinu River. In conjunction with the Kashima shrine, the Katori shrine figured prominently in the area and thrived on interactions with Kyoto, the political and cultural capital of Japan at the time, and the more advanced areas throughout Japan.
For the sake of protecting the Edo capital from flooding, promoting water transportation, and increasing annual rice tax by developing rice fields, the Tokugawa Shogunate began construction in 1645 to change the course of the Tone River to flow from its mouth in Choshi to the Pacific Ocean (moving the capital east of the Tone River).
Ships travelled up the Tone River and down the Edo River carrying annual rice tax, goods and commodities from Tohoku to the Kanto area. The area thrived with increased movement of goods and people, which is illustrated in the saying,”If you want to see Edo culture come and visit Sawara for Sawara Honmachi is much livelier than Edo.”
Up until the early Showa period (1926 to 1945), ship transport was extremely active, and ships and cargo filled the river, while shipping agents, steamship companies, hotels, rice fertilizer merchants, vegetable shops, confectionery and tobacco shops, fish shops, liquor shops, and soy sauce manufacturing plants stood in a row along the river shore. Most houses had a docking area called “dashi,” which was bustling day and night with people getting on and off the ships.
Soy sauce manufacturing was also booming at the time, and in 1839, there were 14 soy sauce breweries in the area, which has dwindled down today to just one manufacturer called “Shojo Soy Sauce,” which produces soy sauce under contract in a different location.
Sawara is a well-known water village, where river fishing has been a central part of life, and the fertile land yields agricultural products such as rice, vegetables, peanuts, and Japanese apple pears. Gourd, cucumbers, ginger, small eggplants and other vegetables pickled using high quality sake, sweet sake, and flavored with sake lees, as well as local specialties made with river fish are sold in local shops as flavors representing Sawara.
