Shike-michi (四間道) is a small historical street in Nishi-ku, Nagoya in central

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

History

The district was founded for merchants at the time when

Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya Castle was constructed by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period on the site of an earlier castle of the Oda clan in the Sengoku period. Nagoya Castle was the heart of one of the ...

was constructed as the seat of the Owari lords in 1610 CE (

Keichō was a after '' Bunroku'' and before '' Genna''. This period spanned from October 1596 to July 1615. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1596 : The era name was changed to ''Keichō'' to mark the passing of various natural disaste ...

15), following the move from the town of Kiyosu. The move from Kiyosu to Nagoya was called "Kiyosu goshi". The merchants who lived and worked here in their ''

machiya are traditional wooden townhouses found throughout Japan and typified in the historical capital of Kyoto. ('townhouses') and ('farm dwellings') constitute the two categories of Japanese vernacular architecture known as ('folk dwellings'). ...

'' houses traded in rice, miso, sake, salt, charcoal and wood. The Hori River was used as a transportation canal and commerce began to flourish. A large fire in 1700, called Genroku-no-Taika, destroyed a large number of merchant houses and 15 temples and shrines in Nagoya. As a result, Tokugawa Yoshimichi, the 4th lord of Owari, decided to widen the back street that runs parallel to the Hori Canal. The measurements are four '' ken'' (shike), which is around 7 metres. The warehouses were constructed with plaster walls on the east side as a protection against future fires. It took around 40 years to complete the whole area. Most houses that are standing date to 1740. The city designated the townscape as a historic conservation district on June 10, 1986. Access by public transport is Marunouchi Station on the Tsurumai Line or Kokusai Center Station on the Sakuradori Line. Bordering directly south of the street is the Funairi-chō neighbourhood.

''Yanegami''

An interesting feature on a warehouse is the rooftop shrine, called ''Yanegami'' (屋根神). This rooftop deity honours Tsushima, Akiba and Atsuta Shrines. A small altar erected on the roof is a Nagoya custom. It is a means to ward off disease and disasters, and reflects the great devotion of ordinary people.

Gojō Bridge

The Gojō bridge (五条橋) over the Hori River is located at the northern end of the street. The name is thought to date back to time of the migration of the seat of government from Kiyosu to Nagoya in 1610 CE. The original bridge was said to have spanned the Gojō River in front of the Kiyosu Castle. The wooden bridge was replaced in 1938 with a concrete one. The inscription on the ornamental metal knobs are inscribed with "Gojō Bridge, Keichō 7, Year of the Tiger, June, Lucky Day."

Fuji Sengen Shrine

Located at the southern end of the street is the Shinto Fuji Sengen Shrine.

External links

Shikemichi
History of Nagoya Tourist attractions in Nagoya {{aichi-geo-stub