was the fifty-fifth 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 Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

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 ...

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

Mizuho Mizuho () literally means "abundant rice" in Japanese and "harvest" in the figurative sense. It was also an ancient name of Japan. It might refer to: Places * Mizuho, Gifu, a city in Gifu * Mizuho, Tokyo, a town in Tokyo * Mizuho Plateau in Ant ...

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 ...

. ''Gifu City Walking Map''. Gifu Lively City Public Corporation, 2007.Mieji-juku
/ref>

History

Mieji is surrounded by the

Kiso Three Rivers The refers to the three major rivers that make up the alluvial plain area of the Nōbi Plain of Japan. The three rivers are the Kiso River, the Ibi River and the Nagara River. Given their location, they are sometimes referred to as the Nōbi Th ...

: the

Kiso River The is a river in the Chubu region of Japan roughly long, flowing through the prefectures of Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie before emptying into Ise Bay a short distance away from the city of Nagoya.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005) ...

Ibi River The is a tributary of the Kiso River located in Gifu and Mie Prefectures in Japan. Along with the Nagara and Kiso rivers, the Ibi is the third of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. It is one of Japan's first-class rivers. The former Tō ...

and the

Nagara River The has its source in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and its mouth in the city of Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Kiso River and Ibi River, the Nagara River is one of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. Previously, ...

and was subject to frequent flooding. A Buddhist temple called Mie-ji was constructed in 717 AD with an image of

Kannon Bosatsu Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

to pray for protection against floods, and a small village grew up around the gates of the temple. However, during the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

Saitō Dōsan , also known as Saitō Toshimasa (斎藤利政), was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Saitō Dōsan"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 809. He was also known as the for his ruthless tactics. His hono ...

relocated the temple to his capital at

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

. A small chapel was rebuilt, and under

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

a ''tonya'' was established for the supply of porters, horses and the warehousing of goods. However, it was not until 1637 that 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 ...

officially formalized Mieji as a post station on the Nakasendō and it was not until 1669 that the ''

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 ...

'' was completed. Per the 1843 guidebook issued by the , the town had a population of 582 people in 136 houses, including one ''

'', and 11 ''

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 station had a bad reputation, as travelers could be trapped for days due the floods (during which time prices increased astronomically). The ''honjin'' had an elevation of only 10 meters above sea level, and was the highest point in the settlement. The eleven inns were of low standing, and were known to be frequented by thieves. Mieji was also known for the aggressiveness of its ''

meshimori onna or , literally "meal-serving woman," is the Japanese term for the women who were hired by ''hatago'' inns at the '' shukuba'' (post stations) along ''kaidō'' routes in Japan during the Edo era. They were originally maidservants hired by the inn ...

'' serving girls, who supplemented their income as prostitutes. However, the station also promoted its location on the

Mino Thirty-three Kannon The are a collection of Buddhist temples in southern Gifu Prefecture, Japan.Mino 33 Kannon
Mino Seig ...

pilgrimage routes and was frequented by many pilgrims.

Mieji-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 Mieji-juku dates from 1835 -1838. The print depicts a placid view of Mieji, with two farmers stopping to give directions to a traveling priest. The thatched roofs of the post station can be seen beyond a marsh with groves of bamboo and a pair of blooming Camilla trees.

Surrounding Area

The

Goroku River The is a river in Japan which flows through Gifu Prefecture. It empties into the Sai River, which is part of the Nagara River system. The river, whose name means "Frozen Dark One", was named after Mieji-juku, the 56th post town on the Nakasend� ...

, which ran alongside Mieji-juku, received its name from the post town. "Goroku" (五六) means "56." (Mieji-juku was the 56th stop along the Nakasendō if

Nihonbashi is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current ...

is included.)

Neighboring Post Towns

;Nakasendō :

Gōdo-juku was the fifty-fourth of the 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 Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. ''Gifu City Walking Map''. Gi ...

- Mieji-juku - Akasaka-juku

References

* * * *

External links

Hiroshige Kiso-Kaido seriesMieji-juku on Kiso Kaido RoadGifu Nakasendo Guide

Notes

{{reflist Stations of the Nakasendō Post stations in Gifu Prefecture Mizuho, Gifu Mino Province