Nagano is most famous to the world as the host city for the 1998 Winter Olympics but behind that lies a deeper and even more interesting history. Founded over 1,400 years ago the city started as a small town that grew around a Buddhist temple. Zenkoji The temple of Benevolent Buddhist Light still exists today. Nagano was also prominent during the Sengoku or warring states period and during the subsequent Edo period. Nagano is the largest and capital city in Nagano prefecture
After Nagano we visit Matsushiro slightly south of Nagano. Prominent during the Edo period we visit the remains of Matsushiro castle, the school for samurai retainers and the Treasury of the Sanada clan.
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