was the fifty-eighth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō 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 in Edo period Japan. It is located in former Mino Province in what is now part of the town of

Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

, Fuwa District,

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 ...

History

Sekigahara is a strategically important location as is located at the entrance to a narrow pass that was the only land route between Mino Province and Ōmi Province. The name came from a barrier and checkpoint called the "Kuwano-no-seki", which existed since the Asuka period to guard the approaches to the capital from the east. The checkpoint fell out of use in then Heian period, but was received by the Tokugawa Shogunate. The village was also at a junction of the Nakasendō with the Hokkoku Kaidō towards the Sea of Japan and the Ise Kaidō to the Ise Grand Shrine.Nakasendo Sekigahara-juku
. Ibisoku Co., Ltd. Accessed July 11, 2007. Due to its location, this area was the site of many battles throughout history, from the Asuka-period Jinshin War to the 1601

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

. In the early Edo period, the system of post stations on the Nakasendō was formalized by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1602, and it became a stopping place for traveling merchants () who originated from Ōmi Province. 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'' to-and-from the Shogun's court in

. Sekigahara is 443 kilometers from

. Sekigahara Pass has some of the heaviest snowfalls in Japan, and travelers trapped by early snowfall in autumn were forced to spend time at Sekigahara-juku until the road became passable. Per the 1843 guidebook issued by the , the town had a population of 1389 people in 269 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 33 ''

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 ...

''. Modern Sekigahara is a tourist destination for the locations related to the Battle of Sekigahara. Part of the checkpoint buildings named Fuwano Checkpoint are still standing. But the most of the old buildings have been destroyed when the road was modernized and widened allow for a modern motorway and the railway line to pass through.

Sekigahara-juku in ''The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō''

Utagawa Hiroshige's '' ukiyo-e'' print of Sekigahara-juku dates from 1835 -1838. The print depicts travelers seated at a roadside noodle shop, which has signs advertising "Satomochi", a sweet rice cake that was a speciality of this area. Straw hats and straw sandals are also on sale. A man leading a packhorse is observing the scene. In the background is another teahouse and many travelers are heading towards it, indicating the busy nature of this post station.

Neighboring post towns

;Nakasendō : Tarui-juku - Sekigahara-juku - Imasu-juku

Notes

References

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External links

Hiroshige Kiso-Kaido seriesSekigahara-juku on Kiso Kaido RoadGifu Nakasendo Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sekigahara-juku Stations of the Nakasendō Post stations in Gifu Prefecture Sekigahara, Gifu Mino Province