As a testimony to narezushi"s importance and the skill required to make it, Kitamura"s ancestor 18 generations back, Kuemon Yamagataya (Kitashina"s founder), was appointed to the entourage of Lord Mitsunobu Wakebe when he moved to Takashima in 1619 to take charge of the castle at the request of Japan"s new military leader, Ieyasu Tokugawa.