Searching for Samurai

Searching for Samurai

From Vegan Marathoner Podcast by Kyle Macy Hall

October 13, 2025 · 0 min

About this episode

The episode explores the historical connections of Maeda Forest Park and its significance for running in Hokkaido.

Today it is called Maeda Forest Park. It is easy to find in online guidebooks, Sapporo tourism sites & Trip Advisor. But there’s no direct mention of a samurai linkage. Previously, the Maeda Family lived here. I think. Or, someone somehow connected to this family. Perhaps. A local told us about a hidden connection with this famous family of samurai who ruled much of west-central Japan from the 1500s until the mid-1800’s. Their domain was “second only to that controlled by the powerful Tokugawa family.” (Britannica.com) “They were the daimyo, or lords, of Kaga Province (now part of Ishikawa Prefecture).” (Britannica.com) I cannot vouch for any direct connections and am not sure how a park in the central region of Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido ended up with the Maeda name; however, I can state certifiably that this is a wonderful little nook for running. A colonnade of bright white poplar trees line the pathway at what I presume is the main entrance to the park. Even on a clear, sunny day in late August there were no more than a dozen of us in the park during our late morning-early afternoon run. Several days later, there were many loads more during the Hokkaido Marathon…

People in this episode

Host: Kyle Macy Hall

Topics covered

  • running
  • samurai history
  • Japanese culture
  • Hokkaido
  • marathon events

Keywords

  • Maeda Forest Park
  • Hokkaido Marathon
  • running
  • samurai
  • Japanese history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tokugawa family

Places: Maeda Forest Park, Sapporo, Japan, Kaga Province, Ishikawa Prefecture

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