A town pioneered by a British Missionary
During the Yedo era (1600 - 1868), the Karuizawa area had three major stopovers for Nakasendo Highway travellers.
The freezing climate made farming impossible, and the travellers' spending was the only source of the town's income.
The Meiji period (1868 - 1912) put an end to the feudal era which required feudal lords to travel to Yedo, thus decreasing significantly the number of travellers who frequented the highways. 17 years into the Meiji era, construction of a new highway that did not pass through Karuizawa devastated the already crippled town.
The deserted area did not get its life back until the visit made by a British missionary Archdeacon A.C. Shaw. The natural beauty and fresh air reminded Shaw of his home in Scotland. In 1888 he built a small vacation home in a Kyu Karuizawa town of Daizukayama, and introduced the area to other missionaries and Japanese intellectuats that he knew. Soon churches dotted the area and more vacation homes were built for Westerners, tycoons, literary people and artists.
With the operation of the Usui Shin Tetsudo railways in 1893, further developments were made and Karuizawa transformed into an exclusive summer retreat.
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