Tagawa

Tagawa lies in the southern Shōnai country of Dewa, between the mountains and the Sea of Japan. Tsurugaoka Castle and its town became the seat of the Shōnai domain when Sakai Tadakatsu arrived in 1622. The Sakai family ruled the domain from there throughout the Edo period. The fertile Shōnai plain supplied rice to the castle town and its rulers, while the coast opened the district to maritime traffic.