The proximity of Chichibu to Edo and the absence of a major checkpoint between the two encouraged travel and trade, and regularly scheduled fairs for silk trading became eagerly awaited, festive events. The pilgrimage course of thirty-four Kannon temples also attracted a great number of pilgrims, who in turn stimulated local interest in the thriving culture of Edo. Edo influences are clearly visible in the architectural styles of temples and shrines, folk puppetry, and Kabuki, which have been carefully preserved in Chichibu.
In 1868, the shogun system was eliminated and imperial rule was reestablished. The new Meiji government abolished in 1871 the feudal fiefdoms that had been granted by the shogunate, replacing them with a new administrative system of prefectures. In the economic upheaval accompanying the rapid industrialization that followed, the silk farmers of Chichibu rebelled against the government’s despotic enforcement of modernization. Inspired by Western ideas of democracy, thousands of farmers armed themselves and seized the administrative center at Chichibu City. For a few days they controlled the entire basin, but after the government army laid seige to it, the rebels were isolated and crushed. Although short-lived, this war of resistance (told of in greater detail beginning on p. 186) is an enduring watershed in Japanese history. A gradually changing emphasis in products— from the plain, high-quality Edo fabric, to raw silk for export in the Meiji era, and later meisen, a striped textile used for women’s kimonos—allowed the region’s silk-based prosperity to continue until the early twentieth century. But Chichibu never fully recaptured the glory of the Edo silk fairs.
Nor, of course, has Chichibu been able to escape completely the rapid industrialization and economic upheaval that has created modern Japan. Excavation of limestone and cement production also started in the early twentieth century and became a major industry of the basin. In more recent years, manufacturers of precision machinery and electronic components have begun small-scale operations here. However, the magic of Chichibu remains. The folds of its many mountains enclose places and people imbued with the spirit of old Japan. There still can be seen verdant valleys, clear-flowing streams, and villages snuggled in the woods. Pilgrims still hike from temple to temple, greeted by weathered stone statues that have stood for hundreds of years. Robust men may leave off toiling in the fields and in no time become characters in a Kabuki play. Schoolchildren, drumsticks in hand, will rap out a fast beat. A lively festival, with hearty drinking and sincere merriment, may get under way at any time.
Why not, then, see and explore this land of folklore and tradition so close to and yet so different from ultramodern Tokyo? Visitors crossing the mountains into the Chichibu basin will discover sights and sounds to ease the strain of modern urban life. And they are sure to find a hearty welcome; unassuming hospitality is also a Chichibu tradition. As a refrain of the old folk song Chichibu Ondo puts it:
Nice to have you come through the morning mists!
Come, warm yourself by the fire pit.
GETTING TO AND AROUND CHICHIBU
Seibu Chichibu Station, the Chichibu terminus of the Seibu Railroad, can be reached in ninety minutes from Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo, via the comfortable Red Arrow Express. All seats on this train are reserved, and seats in nonsmoking carriages are available. Tickets may be purchased within a week of your departure date at Ikebukuro and Takadanobaba stations, or at the counter of the Seibu Kankō travel service in Seibu’s LOFT building in Shibuya. Your car number and three-digit seat number are printed on your tickets. The train leaves from an unnumbered platform next to track seven (look for the attendant collecting tickets).
For your convenience, and to avoid disappointment, you should purchase round-trip tickets to Chichibu several days before your departure. However, on weekdays seats are often available without advance reservation. The ticket window for the day’s trains is located to your right after you enter the Seibu Railroad terminus at Ikebukuro Station at the track level (it may also be entered from underground). To enter the Seibu terminus you will need a ticket. You should purchase the most expensive one available from one of the ticket-vending machines outside. This is your basic fare; the ticket that you purchase at the window inside represents a surcharge for the reserved-seat express service. If you strongly desire to return from Chichibu via the Red Arrow and have not purchased a return ticket in advance, you should buy it as soon as you arrive at Seibu Chichibu Station.
If the Red Arrow is full, you may take one of the other trains, but you must change at Hannō Station and it will take you an additional ten to fifteen minutes to reach your destination. Trains to Hannō usually leave from track five. Although the seats are not reserved, these trains are a convenient and less-expensive alternative to the Red Arrow (no additional ticket need be purchased). At Hannō, change to track four to continue to Chichibu. Of course, you should try to confirm the train’s destination before boarding. When returning from Seibu Chichibu Station, use the pedestrian overpass to cross over to the track for local trains, and walk across the platform when you get to Hannō to transfer to your Ikebukuro-bound train.
To transfer to the Chichibu Railroad, a local line serving the Chichibu area, you must go to Ohanabatake Station, about a five-minute walk from Seibu Chichibu Station (see map C). Turn left after handing in your ticket, walk past the station shops and turn left again at the end of the corridor. Follow the path until you come to a street, then turn left and cross the tracks. Turn right again immediately and you will see Ohanabatake Station ahead of you. Trains arrive at this small station only once or twice an hour; however, the station is located in the middle of town, so you can spend your waiting time seeing some sights. Train times may be checked on the schedule above the ticket gate, for weekdays and Saturdays (in black) and Sundays and holidays (in red). Trains heading toward Mitsumine-guchi are listed to the left, while trains for Kumagaya, including Nagatoro, are listed on the right (see foldout map). Tickets must be purchased at the window. Again, you should try to confirm the time of your train’s arrival and the destination of the train you board.
In a direct service begun in 1989, some Seibu trains (not the Red Arrow) from Ikebukuro split at Yokoze Station, with the front cars heading toward Mitsumine-guchi on the Chichibu line, and the rear cars heading toward Nagatoro. For the return trip, they join at Yokoze before departing for Ikebukuro. This service is quite infrequent, however.
For access to Higashi Chichibu-mura in the eastern part of Chichibu county, the Tōbu Tōjō line is recommended. Tōbu trains leave from the opposite end of Ikebukuro Station as Seibu trains do and go to Yorii via Kawagoe and Ogawa-machi. Take the express leaving from track one, get off at Ogawa-machi and take a bus to Higashi Chichibu-mura (see p. 116). There is no super-express service or reserved seating on this line. Nor is there any surcharge.
Buses run along several main routes in and around Chichibu, departing from major train stations. Though somewhat infrequent, they are useful for reaching, inexpensively, destinations beyond railway lines. They can also save much time spent walking on rural roads. Bus schedules, posted at each stop, usually list times for weekdays and Saturdays on the left, Sundays and holidays on the right. Bus fares in rural areas, unlike city buses, vary with distance. When you board, take a ticket from the machine just inside the door. The number on this ticket indicates where you boarded; your fare can be read under the appropriate number on the chart above the driver. If you boarded the bus at the terminus, you will not get a ticket; simply pay the highest fare indicated when you get off. It is a good idea to tell the driver your destination when you board; also, listen for the announcement of your stop.
Taxis are available from major train stations and may be called if you wished to be picked up at other destinations. Knowing the name or number of the temple you are at in Japanese or the name of a prominent landmark nearby is the best way to make your location known. The dispatcher may ask for your name; you should state it in as brief a manner as possible, or, if there are no other foreigners about, say gaijin desu (I’m a foreigner). There is usually a small surcharge for pickup service. Taxi