300px, Ōuchi Pass '' ichirizuka'' The was a pre-modern

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

constructed in

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

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 ...

. It was built to connect Imaichi,

Shimotsuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''SHimotsuke''" in . Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Hitachi Province, ...

(in modern-day

Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...

) with

Aizuwakamatsu Castle , also known as Aizuwakamatsu Castle (会津若松城 ''Aizu-Wakamatsu-jō'') is a Japanese castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture. Background Tsuruga Castle is located in the center of the ...

in modern-day

Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

. It is roughly traced by Japan National Route 121 and Fukushima Prefectural Route 131.

History and background

With the establishment of

Aizu Domain was a Han (Japan), domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Aizuwakamatsu Castle, Tsuruga Castle in M ...

, the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

Hoshina Masayuki was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period, who was the founder of what became the Matsudaira clan, Matsudaira house of Aizu. He was an important figure in the politics and philosophy of the early Tokugawa shogunate. Biography Hoshina ...

(1611-1673) called for the construction of a road to connect his castle with the

Ōshū Kaidō The was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima, S ...

, which was the main route north-south from the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

's capital of

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

(modern-day

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

). Part of the reason for this road was economic, as the Aizu area was geographically isolated by mountains. It was also political, as the ''daimyō'' (regional ruler) of Aizu were required to travel back-and-forth to Edo on alternative years with a large retinue under the ''

sankin-kōtai ''Sankin-kōtai'' (, now commonly written as ) was a policy of the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period, created to control the daimyo, the feudal lords of Japan, politically, and to keep them from attempting to overthrow the regi ...

'' system and needed a well-maintained road with suitable post stations for rest and resupply along the route. The road Hoshina Masayuki created was marked with ''

ichirizuka are historic Japanese distance markers akin to milestones. Comprising a pair of earthen mounds (''tsuka'' Rendaku, or ''zuka'') covered in trees and flanking the road, they denoted the distance in ''Japanese unit#Length, ri'' () to Nihonbashi, t ...

'' distance markers to facilitate travel. The road was named the or sometimes the . In addition to Aizu Domain, the route also proved popular with the ''sankin-kōtai'' retinues of

Shibata Domain was a '' tozama'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Echigo Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Shibata Castle, located in what is now the city of Shibata in Niigata Prefecture. It was r ...

Murakami Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Echigo Province (modern-day Niigata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Murakami Castle in what is now the city of Murakami, Niigata.Shōnai Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Tsuruoka Castle in what is now the city of Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture, and was t ...

and

Yonezawa Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered at Yonezawa castle in what is now the city of Yonezawa, and its territory extended over the Okitama District of Dewa Pr ...

. The route was closed from 1683 to 1723, when a landslide blocked the

Kinugawa River , is a river on the main island of Honshu in Japan. It flows from the north to the south on the Kantō plain, merging with . At 176.7 km in length, it is the longest tributary of Tone-gawa. From ancient times, it has been known to cause flood ...

creating a natural dam. When the dam burst in 1723 during torrential rains, 1200 people were killed by the flood in downstream of Utsunomiya. The road was used by the forces of the

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the southwestern feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satc ...

en route to destroy Aizu Domain during the

Battle of Aizu The Battle of Aizu () was fought in northern Japan from October to November in autumn 1868, and was part of the Boshin War. History Aizu was known for its martial skill, and maintained at any given time a standing army of over 5000. It was oft ...

in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

. In 2002, a well-preserved ten kilometer section of the route centered on

Ōuchi-juku was a small post station in Japan's Edo period and part of the Aizu Nishi Kaidō.Visit Mi ...

between Aizumisato and Shimogō, including Hidama Pass and Ōuchi Pass was designated a National Historic Site of Japan.

Stations of the Aizu Nishi Kaidō

The 16 post stations of the Aizu Nishi Kaidō, with their present-day municipalities listed beside them.

Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...

:Starting location: Imaichi-shuku (今市宿) (

Nikkō is a Cities of Japan, city in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city's population was 80,239, in 36,531 households. The population density was 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Nikkō is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

) (also part of the

Nikkō Kaidō The was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with the temple-shrine complex of the Mangan-ji and Tōshōsha (now cal ...

) :1. Ōkuwa-shuku (大桑宿) (Nikkō) :2. Takatoku-shuku (高徳宿) (Nikkō) :3. Ōhara-shuku (大原宿) (Nikkō) :4. Fujihara-shuku (藤原宿) (Nikkō) :5. Takaharashinden-shuku (高原新田宿) (Nikkō) :6. Gōjūri-shuku (五十里宿) (Nikkō) :7. Miyori-shuku (三依宿) (Nikkō) :8. Yokokawa-shuku (横川宿) (Nikkō)

Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

:9. Itozawa-juku (糸沢宿) ( Minamiaizu) :10. Kawashima-juku (川島宿) (Minamiaizu) :11. Tajima-juku (田島宿) (Minamiaizu) :12. Narahara-juku (楢原宿) ( Shimogō) :13. Kuratani-juku (倉谷宿) (Shimogō) :14.

Ōuchi-juku was a small post station in Japan's Edo period and part of the Aizu Nishi Kaidō.Visit Mi ...

(大内宿) (Shimogō) :15. Sekiyama-juku (関山宿) ( Aizumisato) :16. Fukunaga-juku (福永宿) (Aizumisato) :Ending Location:

(若松城) (

Aizuwakamatsu is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . History The area of present-day Aizuwakamatsu ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aizu Nishi Kaido Road transport in Japan 17th-century establishments in Japan History of Fukushima Prefecture Mutsu Province Shimogō, Fukushima Historic Sites of Japan

History and background

Stations of the Aizu Nishi Kaidō

Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...

Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

See also

References