KAKU-NO-DATE, NORTHERN JAPAN. Here, Ashina Yoshikatsu built a town of ingenious design 390 years ago, with water canals for fire control and tree plantings for wind control. Digging a fire ditch 22m wide and 290m long, Yoshikatsu divided the town in two—a north district of 80 samurai houses and south district of 350 merchant houses. The intersecting streets he staggered to impede invasions. His foresight in city planning enabled this “little Kyoto” of the far north to escape fire and survive much as it was in ancient times. Many trees in the samurai house gardens are now three to four hundred years old. (photograph ⓒ K. Shimizu)
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