During Japan’s Edo period, an unauthorized crossing of a checkpoint was a capital crime that could lead to death by crucifixion. A few locations were exempt from this rule, and Yagiri in the Chiba city of Matsudo was one of those. Bordering Katsushika City across the Edo river, the Yagiri area has been known for its farming of scallion and mugwort for centuries. Around the 17th century, some farmers owned land on both sides of the river, so the shogunate allowed them to cross the river border without official permission….
