was the forty-third of the
sixty-nine stations of the
Nakasendō
The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. There were 6 ...
connecting
Edo with
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
in
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
Japan. It is located in former
Mino Province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...
in what is now part of the city of
Nakatsugawa
Magome-juku on the Nakasendō
is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,930, and a population density of 120 persons per km2 in 30,788 households The total area of the city was .
Geography
Nakatsugawa is in ...
,
Gifu Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It was also the last of eleven stations along the
Kisoji The was an old trade route in the Kiso Valley that stretched from Niekawa-juku in Nagano Prefecture to Magome-juku in Gifu Prefecture. There were eleven resting spots along the route, all of which became part of the Nakasendō when it was establish ...
, which was the precursor to a part of the Nakasendō, running through the
Kiso Valley
The is a geographical area that centers on the valley of the upper portions of the Kiso River in the southwestern part of Nagano Prefecture in Japan. It is a v-shaped valley with length of approximately 60 km (36 mi) that follows the ri ...
.
[Gifu Sightseeing Guide: Walking Amidst History and Nature](_blank)
Gifu Prefecture Tourist Federation. Accessed July 10, 2007.
History
![Magome-Juku Milestone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Magome-Juku_Milestone.jpg)
Magome-juku is located in a very mountainous section of the highway between Mino and
Shinano Province
or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture.
Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...
. In places, the road was very steep and in the section between Magome-juku and the next station to the east,
Tsumago-juku
was the forty-second of the sixty-nine post towns on the Nakasendō. It is located in Nagiso, Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It has been restored to its appearance as an Edo-era post town and is now a popular tourist destination.
Hi ...
, travelers had to navigate an 800 meter mountain pass. The village is very old, and appears in
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
records dated 1215 as part of the Tōyama ''Shōen'', which had been awarded by
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...
to Kikuhime, the half-sister of
Minamoto no Yoshinaka
, , or Lord Kiso was a general from the late Heian period of Japanese history. A member of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was his cousin and rival during the Genpei War between the Minamoto and the Taira clans. Yoshinaka was born in Musas ...
who lived in this location. In records dated 1487, it was referred to as "Kiso Magome" or "Ena-gun Magome", although Magoma was in Mino, and not in the Kiso River valley. In the early
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, the system of
post stations on the Nakasendō was formalized by the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
in 1602, and it became a stopping place for traveling merchants () and it was also on the ''
sankin-kōtai
''Sankin-kōtai'' ( ja, 参覲交代/参覲交替, now commonly written as ja, 参勤交代/参勤交替, lit=alternate attendance, label=none) was a policy of the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period of Japanese history.Jansen, M ...
'' route used by various western ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
'' to-and-from the Shogun's court in
Edo.
Per the 1843 guidebook issued by the , the town had a population of 717 people in 69 houses, including one ''
honjin
The ''honjin'' at Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku.">Ōhara-shuku.html" ;"title="Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku">Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku.
is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations (''shukuba'') dur ...
'', one ''waki-honjin,'' and 18 ''
hatago
were Edo period lodgings for travelers at '' shukuba'' (post stations) along the national highways, including the Edo Five Routes
The , sometimes translated as "Five Highways", were the five centrally administered routes, or ''kaidō'', that ...
''. The post station was 326.7 kilometers from Edo.
In the modern period, with the completion of the
Chūō Main Line
The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It connects Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faste ...
railway, it fell into obscurity and poverty; and many of its old buildings were destroyed by fires in 1895 and 1915. In recent decades, it has been restored to its appearance as an
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
post town and is now a popular tourist destination. The central feature of Magome is its restored row of houses along the former post road, which runs at a slope between the town's low and high ends. Most were built for common people in the mid-18th century, with shops and inns for travelers along the Nakasendō. A quiet portion of the original highway has been preserved between Magome-juku and Tsumago-juku, which was also restored. It provides for a pleasant walk through forests and past waterfalls. Bus service is also provided between the two post towns, allowing visitors to easily start at either end of the path.
[. Tsumago Sightseeing Association. Retrieved July 10, 2007.]
Notes of interest
Magome was the birthplace and childhood home of noted author
Shimazaki Tōson Shimazaki (written: , or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Aki Shimazaki
Aki Shimazaki (born 1966 in Gifu, Gifu, Gifu, Japan) is a Canadian novelist and Translation, translator. She moved to Canada in 1981, livin ...
, who wrote about the Kiso region in his most famous novel, ''
Before the Dawn'', between 1929 and 1935. He is buried in the town's small cemetery.
The town also offers a fine view of
Mount Ena
is a mountain peak of the Kiso Mountains range in the Chūbu region of Japan.
Geography
Mount Ena is in elevation. It is located on the border between Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Nakatsugawa in Gifu Prefecture and Achi, Nagano, Achi in Nagano Prefecture. ...
, which rises . Panoramic views of the surrounding mountains may be enjoyed from a vista above the main parking lot at Magome's upper end.
Gallery
File:Magome broom.jpg, Main street of Magome-juku in summer
File:Magome2.jpg, Old water mill
File:Magome-juku(post town) , 馬籠宿 - panoramio (20).jpg, Soba
Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour.
In Japan, soba noodles can be found i ...
(left), Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
喫茶かっぺ (right)
File:Magome-Juku StoneSlope.jpg, Senbei
are a type of Japanese rice cracker. They come in various shapes, sizes, and flavors, usually savory but sometimes sweet. Senbei are often eaten with green tea as a casual snack and offered to visiting house guests as a courtesy refreshment.
...
(left)
Magome-juku in ''The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō''
Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige (, also ; ja, 歌川 広重 ), born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format l ...
's ''
ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...
'' print of Magome-juku dates from 1835 -1838. The print depicts the pass between Magome-juku and Tsumago-juku, with a narrow road wedged between the side of a mountain and a steep cliff. A man is followed by two ''
Kago
A is a type of litter used as a means of human transportation by the non-samurai class in feudal Japan and into the Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was ...
'' (palanquin) bearers, one of whom is carrying the empty ''kago'' by one pole on his shoulder while the other is retying his straw sandal. A man is approaching from the opposite direction, but we can see only the top of his straw hat, emphasizing the steep slope of the road. Further in the distance, an oxherd is riding his ox past a waterfall, and the roofs of the post station can be seen in the valley below. In the distance,
Mount Ena
is a mountain peak of the Kiso Mountains range in the Chūbu region of Japan.
Geography
Mount Ena is in elevation. It is located on the border between Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Nakatsugawa in Gifu Prefecture and Achi, Nagano, Achi in Nagano Prefecture. ...
looms as a grey shadow.
Neighboring post towns
![Magome mountains](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Magome_mountains.jpg)
;Nakasendō
:
Tsumago-juku
was the forty-second of the sixty-nine post towns on the Nakasendō. It is located in Nagiso, Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It has been restored to its appearance as an Edo-era post town and is now a popular tourist destination.
Hi ...
- Magome-juku -
Ochiai-juku
was the forty-fourth of the 69 Stations of the Nakasendō, sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It is located in former Mino Province in what is now part of the city of Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Nakatsuga ...
;Kisoji
:
Tsumago-juku
was the forty-second of the sixty-nine post towns on the Nakasendō. It is located in Nagiso, Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It has been restored to its appearance as an Edo-era post town and is now a popular tourist destination.
Hi ...
- Magome-juku ''(ending location)''
References
*
*
*
*
External links
Hiroshige Kiso-Kaido seriesMagome-juku on Kiso Kaido RoadGifu Nakasendo Guide
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magome-Juku
Stations of the Nakasendō
Post stations in Gifu Prefecture
Nakatsugawa, Gifu
Mino Province