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 69 ...
connecting
Edo with
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, 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, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
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 characte ...
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,
Gifu Prefecture,
Japan. 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 establ ...
, which was the precursor to a part of the Nakasendō, running through the
Kiso Valley.
[Gifu Sightseeing Guide: Walking Amidst History and Nature](_blank)
Gifu Prefecture Tourist Federation. Accessed July 10, 2007.
History
Magome-juku is located in a very mountainous section of the highway between Mino and
Shinano Province. 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 characte ...
, 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 period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...
'' 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'', one ''waki-honjin,'' and 18 ''
hatago''. The post station was 326.7 kilometers from Edo.
In the modern period, with the completion of the
Chūō Main Line 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 characte ...
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, 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, 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 (left), Coffeehouse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 of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk t ...
'' 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 w ...
'' (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 looms as a grey shadow.
Neighboring post towns
;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