The background of Imai-cho being a village surrounded by a mot goes back to the days when that town was constructed for self-defense against attack by external forces cracking down on the Ikkoshu faith which the townspeople had embraced since before dawn of medieval times and that legacy with respect to the physical layout of the town remains intact today.
このような環濠集落を必要としたことは、中世未明から信奉してきた一向宗への弾圧からの自衛のために町造りの形態がそのまま残されてきたわけである。