Karuizawa, Kyu-Karuizawa, Oiwake, Kutsukake: One Town?
Karuizawa, Kyu-Karuizawa, Oiwake, Kutsukake. Names that sound like variations on a theme actually cover different ground.
Visit Karuizawa Town and you'll hear Karuizawa, Kyu-Karuizawa (Old Karuizawa), Naka-Karuizawa (Central Karuizawa), and Oiwake used almost interchangeably. They are not just alternate names for one place; they're layers left behind by post towns, villages, and a town government, each drawn at a different point in time.
This article follows the names from their Edo-period post towns to today's address registry, sorting out what each one covers on the map and when it came to mean that.
Names Left by Edo-Period Post Towns
Karuizawa, Kutsukake, and Oiwake all trace back to the names of Nakasendo post towns.
Karuizawa-juku
Karuizawa-juku, along with Kutsukake-juku and Oiwake-juku, was one of the Nakasendo post towns set along the southern foot of Mt. Asama, and it sat closest to Usui Pass of the three. The stretch that had been Karuizawa-juku later became the core of the district known today as Kyu-Karuizawa.
Kutsukake-juku
Kutsukake-juku sat between the other two post towns, and Kutsukake Station opened nearby in 1910. The station was renamed Naka-Karuizawa Station in 1956, and the district itself was renamed from Kutsukake to Naka-Karuizawa in 1960, so the post-town name has vanished from both the station and the district.
Source:History of Karuizawa Town
Oiwake-juku
Oiwake-juku was the 20th post town of the Nakasendo counting from Edo, and it held the Wakasare junction, where the Hokkoku Kaido split off toward Echigo Province. Of the three post towns, only Oiwake keeps its post-town name intact today, as the formal district Oaza Oiwake.
From Villages to a Town Government
Higashi- and Nishi-Nagakura villages, set up in 1889, became Karuizawa Town in 1923, and a 1942 merger completed today's town boundaries.
Higashi-Nagakura and Nishi-Nagakura Villages
In 1889, the area including Karuizawa-juku was organized as Higashi-Nagakura Village, while the area including Kutsukake-juku and Karishuku was organized separately as Nishi-Nagakura Village. Elementary schools opened the same year in Karuizawa, Nagakura, and Oiwake, so the three post towns were, for a time, split between two villages.
Source:History of Karuizawa Town
Renamed "Karuizawa Town"
Higashi-Nagakura Village was incorporated in 1923 and renamed Karuizawa Town. The name of Karuizawa-juku, the northernmost of the three post towns, was thereby adopted for the whole of Higashi-Nagakura, and eventually for the whole town.
Source:History of Karuizawa Town
The Merger with Nishi-Nagakura
In 1942, Karuizawa Town merged with Nishi-Nagakura Village, reaching a population of 8,746. This formally brought the areas of Kutsukake-juku and Oiwake-juku into "Karuizawa Town," completing the town boundaries that still hold today.
Source:History of Karuizawa Town
Today's Names and What They Cover
Karuizawa, Oaza Karuizawa, Karuizawa Higashi, Naka-Karuizawa, and Oaza Oiwake are formal address divisions today; Kyu-Karuizawa and Shin-Karuizawa are historical nicknames.
Oaza Karuizawa and Karuizawa
Karuizawa Town's address registry has nine divisions: Oaza Togemachi, Oaza Karuizawa, Oaza Nagakura, Oaza Hocchi, Oaza Oiwake, Oaza Mozawa, Karuizawa, Karuizawa Higashi, and Naka-Karuizawa. "Oaza Karuizawa" and "Karuizawa" are separate divisions with different postal codes. A 1971 land-readjustment project in the core of the Kyu-Karuizawa district dropped the "Oaza" prefix there, creating the plain "Karuizawa" division.
Source:Outline of Karuizawa Town's address systemHistory of Karuizawa Town
Karuizawa Higashi
In 1973, the part of the Shin-Karuizawa area directly in front of Karuizawa Station was carved out into its own address division, Karuizawa Higashi ("East Karuizawa"). It's a case of one specific corner of a broad, informal area being given formal, standalone status.
Naka-Karuizawa
Kutsukake Station was renamed Naka-Karuizawa Station in 1956, and the district name followed in 1960, changing from Kutsukake to Naka-Karuizawa. The old post-town name Kutsukake disappeared from both the station and the district, and "Naka-Karuizawa" is now the formal address division.
Source:History of Karuizawa Town
Kyu-Karuizawa and Shin-Karuizawa, the Informal Names
"Kyu-Karuizawa" (Old Karuizawa) and "Shin-Karuizawa" (New Karuizawa) are not among the nine formal address divisions in use today. The area around former Karuizawa-juku, along the old Nakasendo route, is called Kyu-Karuizawa, and the area around the station along National Route 18 is called Shin-Karuizawa. Both names are well established in tourism and daily speech, but neither is a formal place name.
FAQ
What's the difference between Karuizawa and Kyu-Karuizawa?
"Karuizawa" without "Oaza" is one formal address division, created by the 1971 land readjustment. "Kyu-Karuizawa" is a broader tourism nickname for the area around the old post town along the former Nakasendo. The two overlap in places, but they don't cover the same ground.
Is the name Kutsukake still used at all?
As a station or district name, "Kutsukake" was replaced by "Naka-Karuizawa" between 1956 and 1960 and isn't in current use. As the name of the Edo-period post town, Kutsukake-juku still appears in historical references and explanations.
Why did only Oiwake keep its original post-town name?
Of the three post towns, only Oiwake still carries its name into a formal district today, as Oaza Oiwake. Karuizawa-juku's name was promoted to cover the whole of Karuizawa Town, and Kutsukake-juku's name was replaced by Naka-Karuizawa, leaving Oiwake as the one that kept its post-town name unchanged.
I'd like the broader history of Karuizawa too.
This article focuses narrowly on matching names to the ground they cover, using maps and history. The larger arc, from post town to resort to transit hub, is told as a single narrative in a separate article, How Karuizawa Outgrew a Nakasendo Post Town.