hostile towards him, resided?in the vicinity of Kusatsu, in Ueda Castle.
Edo period
During the Edo period, especially the Bakumatsu, Kusatsu experienced unprecedented economic growth and became one of Japan's best known hot springs. This was partly due to the increasing incidence of venereal diseases like gonorrhoea and syphilis, contracted in Tokyo red light districts like Yoshiwara, for which there was then no known cure besides bathing in a hot spring. The saying: "Kusatsu sengen Edo gamae" also goes back to this time and means: a thousand stores, just like in (the shopping districts in) Edo.
Hearing the praise of the Kusatsu Onsen the 8th Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune had hot-spring water drawn from the Yubatake source and transported into his castle for bathing.
Meiji period
In 1869, Kusatsu burned to the ground. The town was reconstructed within a few years, but the process left many local people in debt, causing the bankruptcy of many small enterprises, especially ryokan, over the next 20 years. At that time many of the inhabitants of Kusatsu abandoned the traditional practice of "Fuyuzumi" which meant leaving Kusatsu in wintertime and returning to their hometowns, located further down the mountains. Instead, the townspeople sold their old homes to repay their debts and began to live in Kusatsu all year long.
In 1876, Kusatsu village and Maeguchi village got together to build one ward office and in 1889 Kusatsu, Maeguchi and six other villages merged to form the village of Kusatsu, but in 1890, Kusatsu and Maeguchi again formed one town, while the six remaining villages formed Kuni-mura village.
The infrastructure developed in the Meiji period and also people`s knowledge, therefore many famous people were visiting Kusatsu. Especially foreigners were scientifically interested in this area, which became an important area for research of effects of hot springs, volcanos etc.
In 1876, Erwin B�lz,
