From the four winds and the scent of the earth,

come the color of the seasons.

Exploring the four seasons of Japan.

The Joetsu Shinkansen, emerges from a tunnel through the mountains northwest of Tokyo.

In the blink of an eye, it's gone.

Long ago, following this route required climbing deep into the mountains.

Any travelers who found their way blocked by floodwater could face a wait of several days.

Linking what are now the prefectures of Gunma and Niigata, this is the Mikuni Road.

In the samurai days, the route was used to take tributes to the Shogun in Tokyo, then known as Edo.

One precious gift was the salmon that swim up this river from the sea, 100 km to the north.

When the first salmon of the season to swim up the river were taken to the Shogun,

a special transit permit was issued to allow the couriers to travel through the night.

Other products carried down the Mikuni Road included cocoons and raw silk.

Gunma is Japan's foremost silk-producing region.

We grew some delicious mulberries,

"so I hope the silkworms will
do their best to eat it for us."

"They are such unusual insects."

The Mikuni Road played a key role in the silk industry.

"Silk threads from cocoons
harvested in Gunma were -

- taken down the Mikuni
Road to Nihonbashi."

The road was an important thread too.

Another local industry is tool making.

Craftspeople pass their skills down the generations.

This is the critical phase.
When the metal is red hot.

The Mikuni Road brought people together, and carried the fruits of their labor.

This fall, we travel this storied route.

The Mikuni Road stretches from Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture

to Teradomari, 200 kilometers to the north in Niigata Prefecture.

In Japan's samurai days, the road was the shortest route between Edo, and Niigata.

Mt. Mikuni, which is 1,636 meters high, lies on the border between Gunma and Niigata.

The pass over the mountain was one of the most difficult sections of the old Mikuni Road.

In the samurai era, Edo was the seat of the Shogun's government.

To travel the Mikuni Road required passing through two checkpoints, often referred to as barriers.

The first of these was the Mokugabashi Barrier.

This building is 200 years old.

The building is managed today by Tanaka Hiroshi.

Down the generations, the Tanaka family were responsible for manning the barrier.

This is the Mikuni Road.

The last official at the barrier
was five generations before me.

Long ago, the road went
straight through here.

On the other side of the barrier is the Agatsuma River.

When floods swelled the river, travelers would have to wait for the waters to recede.

Some were kept in an underground dungeon, including convicted criminals going north for forced labor.

Their journey into the hinterland began on the Mikuni Road.

If they could not cross the river, they
had to wait here for quite some time.

- "Could you survive one night?"
- Never. Not even one!

The northern terminus of the road is in Teradomari, Niigata, a town on the Japan Sea Coast.

Across the water is Sado Island, a site of a former gold mine.

Tired after the long journey north, workers rested here before crossing the sea.

The journey from Edo along the Mikuni
Road was extremely harsh and exhausting.

Some people even died.

"Even those who made it to the
island often never returned."

"For many people, the Mikuni
Road was a one way journey."

"Welcome, come in!"

Teradomari is now a popular tourist destination, with many people coming to enjoy the seafood.

- "What did you have?"
- Fish cake, maybe?

What!?

Blackthroat seaperch and other locally-caught fish are still carried south along the Mikuni Road.

The city of Minami-Uonuma, Niigata, is a major producer of rice.

Local people are marking the autumnal equinox.

I love this tray set. We use
it for the equinox festivals.

Okamura Kunio is preparing his Buddhist altar for the equinox festival.

Kunio says that his ancestors were the village administrators.

The Mikuni Road passes in front of his house.

"There are still a few rice fields left."

In the middle of one field is a centuries-old stone memorial.

It is dedicated to Sarutahiko.

Sarutahiko is a God who appears in Japanese legends.

This stone memorial was by the old
roadside. Sarutahiko marked the path.

Kunio uses the Mikuni Road every day.

He works on the other side of Mt. Mikuni.

For local people around here,

the pass is like a difficult gateway
that leads to faraway places.

For me, it is just part of my routine.

This is the Shin-Mikuni Tunnel.

"You have entered Gunma Prefecture."

It's so sunny.

The weather is so different on this side.

A journey of around one hour...

...leads to a hot spring hotel deep in the mountains.

This is where Kunio was born and grew up.

It was in 1875 that Kunio's great-great grandfather bought the land and the rights to this spa, establishing the hotel.

My parents and siblings used this
room there on the second floor.

There were five of us in here.

The hotel is proud of its hot spring.

Its waters are said to be good for the treatment of both burns and atherosclerosis.

"It's as if you can feel the earth breathing."

Guests continue to use the hot springs, just as they have for more than 100 years.

The time has come to harvest Kunio's rice field.

He entrusts the actual labor to an experienced local farmer.

"I'm delighted."

I don't directly work the land myself,

"I'm always pleased when the
rice on our land is harvested."

"We will serve it to the guests at the hotel."

"It's always a pleasure to see the harvest."

The harvested rice is carried over the pass,

where, freshly cooked at the spa hotel, it gives off a pleasing steam.

This is Shiozawa in Minami Uonuma City.

On a street intersecting the Mikuni Road, an event is underway.

"Let's open the market!"

At this monthly market, goods are sold straight from the back of mini trucks, which act as market stalls.

I can see one!

Children try to catch colored carp with fragile paper scoops.

Among children at the market,

...mint candies are also very popular.

I got loads. I want to eat it now.

These traditional local candies have been popular since samurai days.

The candies are made by this shop on the main street.

Let's fire it up!

Aoki Noriaki makes the candies using the traditional method.

We use granulated sugar, syrup,
and mint crystals, as well as water.

Using only four ingredients
makes it difficult.

You can burn yourself if you're not careful.

It's very hot.

The key ingredient is Japanese mint, known as "hakka."

To obtain the mint, the first step is to boil the leaves,

and collect the mint in a crystal, which is known as a "hakka-en."

In samurai times, it was used as a medicine.

There is still a "hakka-en" sign in the shop.

"Reduces dizziness, cools you down,
immediately effective for all conditions."

"Long ago, it was a
treatment for dizziness."

"Hakka-en" was costly but easy to store.

"Hakka-en" was carried down the Mikuni Road by porters who had to beware of bandits.

"They sold it in Edo and Osaka."

I would imagine they
made a lot of money.

Japanese mint, which prefers humid conditions, has always grown wild in the lowlands along the Mikuni Road.

Locals used it for traditional medicine.

Hakka was reportedly once presented to a samurai leader encamped nearby.

Later, hakka-en became extremely popular.

Using the ingredient, they made "hakka-to," a mint candy.

"Hakka-to" is made by adding the "hakka-en" mint crystals to a candy mixture before it hardens.

"You only need a surprisingly small
amount for the flavor to come out."

Twisting the mixture...

turns it white as snow.

Twisting the "Hakka-to"
turns it smooth and white.

It's like drawing silk threads.

It's interesting to imagine how the people living
along this road invented these products.

Before the candy cools and hardens, it has to be shaped.

It hardens quickly...

It was a medicine but then
it turned into a candy;

our job is to keep making it.
We must preserve its history.

After three or four days, the candy is ready to eat.

It breaks up with a satisfying crumble as you eat it.

The taste of the "Hakka-to."

It tells the story of the Mikuni Road.

It's just a snack.

Takasaki, in Gunma, sits at one end of the Mikuni Road.

Takasaki also sits on the Nakasen-do, a major route that linked West and East Japan.

Yanagawa town, an area of Takasaki, is preparing for a major festival.

Each year, the festival features traditional music.

One more time!

Directing the musical performance is... Tsutsumi Yoshimasa, a local community leader.

That's not right. Now rest.

"They are just kids."

Innocent and pure.

"Some neighborhoods don't have enough kids,

but we are determined to do all we
can to keep children participating."

The festival, which features large floats, dates back 300 years.

It's held on September 3 and 4.

All the neighborhoods of Takasaki are proud of the dolls which they place on their floats.

Yanagawa's doll is Yamatotakeru, a hero from ancient times.

We are proud of the costume,
the embroidery.

You can see the golden silk threads.

There isn't really anyone around who
can make garments like this anymore.

As an important transportation hub at the intersection of two major routes,

Takasaki prospered through commerce.

After work, local traders flocked to the entertainment district of Yanagawa.

The day of the festival has arrived.

"Lift it a little higher."

The hero Yamatotakeru is here to take center stage.

The float sets off on its procession.

The children accompany the float on their drums and their flutes.

This year, 11 floats took part in the festival.

Each neighborhood is extremely proud of the floats and their musical performances.

"It's a great festival!"

The prosperity of communities along the Mikuni Road in the samurai era led to the development of some remarkable arts.

The Takanori Shrine in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, is home to the god of loom weaving.

In the shrine's main building is a notable wood carving.

The carving shows a weaver at work on a loom.

It captures the textures of the threads and the fabric.

The work was created by a famous 19th-century woodcarver who went by the name of Ishikawa Uncho.

He was an artist in Edo, but a meeting with an ironmonger from Niigata changed his life.

The ironmonger offered to be his patron, promising good sake and quality tools for life.

Uncho accepted and moved to Niigata.

Uncho's greatest masterpiece is at the temple of Saifuku-ji in Uonuma.

The colorful ceiling work is spectacular.

It leaves no doubt as to Uncho's genius.

It leaves quite an impression.

It's as if he is speaking through the carving
to tell you how he felt while creating it.

Taking in the intricate carvings are sculptor Okino Kenichi and his apprentice Nagai Fumika.

Their job is to produce carvings for shrines and temples.

I hope I can get close to the
quality of Ishikawa Uncho.

Of course I realize
I won't be able to.

This is one of Kenichi's works.

I tried to copy Uncho's style.

Particularly in the shape of the claws.

Tsubame City is another city on the Mikuni Road.

This is Kenichi's workshop.

The quality of his craftsmanship sees him win orders from across Japan.

Recently though, he fell from his ladder and broke his arm.

Unable to work, he is taking the opportunity to instruct Fumika, who is in her second year as his apprentice.

You should lower this surface here.

Kenichi not only teaches his apprentices, he also passes down his tools.

These chisels were made in Yoita, a neighboring district.

I've been using these since
my apprentice days.

I love using these chisels.

I feel relaxed using them, and
I'm really attached to them.

Tools are extremely important.

Yoita is another district of Nagaoka City.

Funatsu Yuji works there as a toolmaker.

There were many blacksmiths in this area.

Around a century ago, there were over 200 blacksmiths in the town.

Only 10 remain.

This is Yuji's workshop.

With too much light, you can't see
the color, the redness of the metal.

That's why I keep it dark.

The craftspeople of Yoita produce a range of artisans tools including planes and chisels.

This is the critical phase.

When the metal is red hot.

The major demand for blacksmiths were spurred by...

...the constant construction in Edo required after the regular fires.

From Niigata to Edo, huge volumes of nails and tools were carried down the Mikuni Road.

Craftspeople from all over Japan still place orders for tools from Yoita.

The wood shaving are like thin fabric.

Incredibly, they are just one hundredth of a millimeter thick, testament to the craftsman's skills.

The local blacksmiths keep the industry's flame alive.

In the heat, and in the darkness, they sweat over their tools.

Yuji says that, as he gets old, quenching the metal for two hours is enough to leave him exhausted.

It's always like working in a sauna.

That must've been hard work.

- How are you doing?
- "I'm fine, I'm fine!"

He is always working by himself in the dark.

I worry about whether he is alive or dead.

I have to wait until I hear
the sound of quenching,

the metal plunging into the water,
then I know he is still with us.

I'm very grateful to my wife.

I love working as a craftsman.

It's both challenging and enjoyable.

I'll keep going as long
as I have the strength.

Every fall, Yoita holds a festival around the time of the full moon.

The street lights are dimmed, leaving the town of blacksmiths illuminated by the procession's flames.

Isn't it amazing?

It's time for the festival's main event.

Illuminated floats are pulled down the Mikuni Road.

It's quite something,
the energy it gives you.

Everyone, young and old, has
been waiting for the festival.

- Really it's incredible.
- It makes me feel younger.

The Uono River runs alongside the Mikuni Road.

Each year, fish swim upriver, announcing the arrival of the late fall.

It's November the fifth.

The Kinpu Shrine is holding its Ojin Festival.

Salmon is offered to the gods of the shrine.

A utensil in each hand, the priest prepares the fish without touching it.

Local people in this region have always
enjoyed salmon over the New Year.

This festival is held to give
thanks for the salmon catch.

Local people along the Mikuni Road share the bounty of the fall festival.

On the mountain pass, it seems the year's first snowfall will not be too far ahead.