Matsumoto, the “City of 3 Gaku’s”—Mountains, Music, and Learning

Located in about the center of both Nagano Prefecture and the Honshu island, Matsumoto takes pride in more than 400 years of history as a castle town. The first “gaku” is a character for “mountains” due to the alpinists the city welcomes on their way to the Japan Alps. The second “gaku” is the character for “music” in a town where you can hear violin music on a street corner and which hosts the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival. And the third “gaku” is the character for “learning,” as the city has long led the way in education, it is treasured by students, and the civic temperament is both enterprising and fond of debate. That is why it is called “Matsumoto, the City of 3 Gaku’s—Mountains, Music, and Learning.”