was the fifty-fourth 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 centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the ''de facto'' ...

connecting

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 ...

with

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

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. 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, Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviated fo ...

in what is now part of the city of

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

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 ...

. ''Gifu City Walking Map''. Gifu Lively City Public Corporation, 2007.Gōdo-juku
/ref>

History

Gōdo-juku was located on the far bank of the

Nagara River The has its source in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and its mouth in the city of Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Kiso River and Ibi River, the Nagara River is one of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. Previously, t ...

from the

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

of Gifu and was the site of a ferry landing. Under 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 ...

, no bridges were constructed across the Nagara River for defensive purposes, and all travelers, whether traveling merchants, priests, or ''

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 ...

'' on ''

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 ...

'' to-and-from the Shogun's court in

were required to cross by boat. Per the 1843 guidebook issued by the , the post station was one of the smallest on the highway and had a population of 272 people in 64 houses, including one ''

honjin image:Ohara-juku01s3200.jpg, The ''honjin'' at Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku. is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations (''shukuba'') during the later part of the Edo period. Evolution of ''Honjin ...

'', and 24 ''

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. ...

'', mostly used by travellers who missed the last ferry. It was located 418.7 kilometers from Edo. Gōdo-juku was completely leveled in the

Bombing of Gifu in World War II The on July 9, 1945 was part of the air raids on Japan campaign waged by the United States of America against military and civilian targets and population centers during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing stages of the Pacific War. ...

, and no structures of the former post station have survived. A small Kannon-do shrine has been reconstructed near the former ferry landing.

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

Utagawa Hiroshige or , 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 landscape series '' The Fifty-three Stations ...

's ''

ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...

'' print of Gōdo-juku dates from 1835 -1838 and is formally named "Gifu Road Station: Godo, Nagara River Cormorant Fishing Boat" (岐阻路ノ駅　河渡　長柄川鵜飼船 ''Gifu no Michi no Eki: Gōdo, Nagaragawa Ukaibune''). As the name implies, the scene depicted is that of

Cormorant fishing on the Nagara River has played a vital role in the history of the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Throughout its long history, it evolved from a means to live, to a profitable industry, to a major tourist draw. It runs from May 11 to October 15 of each year (ex ...

, which is still a popular tourist attraction in Gifu. The post station itself is not depicted.Artifact Challenge
. Gifu City Museum of History. Accessed October 25, 2007.

Gōdo-juku Festival

On the last Sunday of October, the Nakasendō Gōdo-juku Committee organizes a Gōdo-juku Festival,''Outline of Gifu City 2007''. Gifu City Hall, April 2007. with the support of other sponsors. The festival offers hands-on experiences and teaches about the

post station.''6th Annual Nakasendō Gōdo-juku Festival'' flyer. Nakasendō Gōdo-juku Committee. 2007.

Neighboring post towns

;Nakasendō : Kanō-juku - Gōdo-juku -

Mieji-juku was the fifty-fifth of the 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 Mizuho, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. ''Gifu City Walking Map'' ...

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Hiroshige Kiso-Kaido series
*https://sites.google.com/site/onkisokaidoroad/the-69-stations/stations-51-60/kisokaido-godo-station-54?authuser=0 - Godo-juku on Kiso Kaido Road
Gifu Nakasendo Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godo-huku History of Gifu Stations of the Nakasendō Post stations in Gifu Prefecture Mino Province