Kuroe Townscape

"The Kuroe District of western Wakayama Prefecture's Kainan City in developed as a producer of Kuroe lacquerware starting in the Muromachi period. The roughly 230 meter-long Kawabata Street leading to Kotonoura Onzan Soen is lined with historic buildings including the old workshop-homes of lacquerware artisans as well as wholesaler shops. The neighborhood is notable for a sawtooth layout created by all the buildings being aligned to the street at the same angle. On the first weekend of each November the district holds the Kishu Lacquerware Festival, which celebrates Kishu lacquerware and the Kuroe district. Every August 14th the district hosts a night market called the Getaichi, meaning ""clog market,"" a tradition that has continued for more than a century."