Activities in Tsuruoka, Yamagata

Chidokan was the school for the sons of the Shonai clan, which dominated Tsuruoka during the Edo era. It was established in 1805 by Tadaari Sakai.

Japan's Meiji Era (1867-) saw samurai lose their warrior jobs. Some 3,000 samurai of the Shonai Domain decided to swap their swords for hoes and cleared some 225 hectares of wasteland in Yamagata Prefecture.