Matsumae clan
National Route 280's path across Aomori and Hokkaido follows one of the oldest roads in northern Japan, the Matsumaedō. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government officials traveling through the area as a branch of the Edo Five Routes and it had some defensive importance to the Japanese who feared a Russian incursion into Ezo, which was ruled by the Matsumae clan.