A high school girl was waiting for the train on the platform of Keisei Sakura Station

High school girl waiting for a train on the platform of Keisei Sakura Station — High school girl waiting for the train on the platform

Even if you hear that Sakura used to be a military town, you cannot feel any vestige of it when walking in front of the station, visiting the former Horita Residence, or peeking into samurai residences. Even today, one does not see members of the Self-Defense Forces when walking through the city, as is the case in Yokosuka, where the Maritime Self-Defense Force base is still located. If you didn't know any better, you would not be aware of the history of the Japanese Imperial Army troops stationed in Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture. Sakura was one of the 14 cities where Japan's first infantry regiment was established in the early Meiji era. However, before you know it, the army has disappeared somewhere and the city has taken on the aroma of a cultural city with a nonchalant air.

There may be multiple reasons for this transformation, but the way in which the former site of the army garrison is used plays a major role. On the ruins of Sakura Castle, where an infantry regiment was once stationed, now stands the massive National Museum of Japanese History and Folklore. This museum, which comprehensively researches and exhibits history, folklore, and archaeology, must have covered up the traces of the former military city. With this in mind, I walked up to the museum, but it was already late in the evening after visiting the former Horita Residence and the samurai residences. The museum's exhibits are extensive, and it would take me at least two hours to tour them. I decided to visit Sakura again in the near future and took the train from Keisei Sakura Station to go home.

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