was the thirty-third of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now the city of

Toyohashi is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households and a population density of 1,400 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-lar ...

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

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 n ...

. It was the easternmost post station in Mikawa Province. Futagawa Syuku Honjin Museum

History

Futagawa-juku was established in 1601 when two villages, Futagawa (二川村 ''Futagawa-mura'') and Ōiwa (大岩村 ''Ōiwa-mura''), in Mikawa Province's Atsumi District were directed with caring for travelers. However, as the towns were rather small and were separated by 1.3 km, the original setup did not last long. In 1644, 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 ...

moved the village of Futagawa further to the west and the village of Ōiwa further to the east, before reestablishing the post station in the Futagawa's new location. An ''

ai no shuku {{nihongo, Ai no Shuku, 間の宿, mid-station were unofficial post stations along historical routes in Japan. These post stations formed organically along routes (such as the Tōkaidō and the Nakasendō) when the distance between two places w ...

'' was built in Ōiwa. Futagawa-juku was located approximately from

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 ...

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 curre ...

, the start of the Tōkaidō. Furthermore, it was from

Shirasuka-juku was the thirty-second of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in Kosai, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. During the Edo period, it was the westernmost post station of Tōtōmi Province. History Originally, Shirasuka-juku wa ...

to the east and from Yoshida-juku to the west. Futagawa-juku itself stretched for about along the road and held 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 about 30 ''

hatago were Edo period lodgings for travelers at '' shukuba'' (post stations) along the national highways, including the Edo Five Routes and the subroutes. In addition to a place to rest, ''hatago'' also offered meals and other foods to the travelers. ...

''. The ''honjin'' was destroyed many times by fire, but was always rebuilt. The ''honjin'' that existed after the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

was rebuilt in 1988 and became an archives museum.Futagawa Syuku Honjin Museum
Aichi Tourism. Accessed August 23, 2020. The classic

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 ta ...

print by

Andō 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 ...

(Hōeidō edition) from 1831–1834 depicts a rather bleak landscape, with weary travellers approaching an isolated teahouse. During the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

when rail lines were being laid, the tracks ran through the town, but there was no station. After realizing the value of railroad, the town petitioned for a station and

Futagawa Station is a railway station in the city of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tōkai). Lines Futagawa Station is served by the Tōkaidō Main Line, and is located 286.7 kilometers from the southern term ...

was eventually built between Futagawa and Ōiwa. As the station was built slightly apart from Futagawa, remnants from the

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 character ...

post station can be found approximately two kilometers from the station.

Neighboring Post Towns

;Tōkaidō :

- Futagawa-juku - Yoshida-juku

References

{{coord, 34.723296, 137.449827, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:JP-23 Stations of the Tōkaidō Stations of the Tōkaidō in Aichi Prefecture

History

Further reading

Neighboring Post Towns

References