Hagi

Situated on the scenic north coast of Yamaguchi on the Japan Sea, Hagi is a delightful small town rich in history. This was where the Mōri clan built up a great power base during the Sengoku (Warring States) Period in the 15th and 16th centuries. With the start of the Edo Period (1603–1868), the clan fell out of favor with the new Tokugawa Shogunate and their territory, the Chōshū Domain with Hagi as its capital, was reduced to what is now Yamaguchi Prefecture. Chōshū would rise again, however, as they conspired with the Satsuma Domain (Kagoshima) to overthrow the shogunate, ending the Edo Period and beginning Japan’s ascent to modernity with the Meiji Restoration.