The was an old trade route in the
Kiso Valley
The is a geographical area that centers on the valley of the upper portions of the Kiso River in the southwestern part of Nagano Prefecture in Japan. It is a v-shaped valley with length of approximately 60 km (36 mi) that follows the ...
that stretched from
Niekawa-juku in
Nagano Prefecture
is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...
to
Magome-juku
was the forty-third 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 Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It was also the las ...
in
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 ...
. The route featured eleven post towns, all of which were later incorporated into 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'' ...
when it was established.
[Kisoji Shukuba-machi Series](_blank)
. Higashi Nihon Denshin Denwa. Retrieved July 24, 2007. A historical record from 713 in the ''
Shoku Nihongi
The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the '' Six National Histories'', coming directly after the and followed by ''Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi served as t ...
'' transcribes the name as 吉蘇路.
Two stone markers indicate the endpoints of the Kisoji. One, located between
Motoyama-juku and Niekawa-juku, states, "From here south: Kisoji" (是より南 木曽路 ''Kore yori minami, Kisoji''). The other, situated between Magome-juku and
Ochiai-juku, reads, "From here north: Kisoji" (是より北 木曽路 ''Kore yori kita, Kisoji'').
The early 20th-century author
Shimazaki Tōson wrote about the impact of 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
on the Kiso Valley in his novel ''
Before the Dawn''. Having grown up in
Magome-juku
was the forty-third 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 Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It was also the las ...
, he frequently depicted the area in his works.
Following the
Meiji period
The was 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 colonizatio ...
, the construction of the
Chūō Main Line
The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It connects Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faste ...
and
Route 19 provided modern transportation routes that roughly follow the Kisoji’s path.
Stations of the Kisoji
Nagano Prefecture
is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...
:1.
Niekawa-juku (
Shiojiri)
:2.
Narai-juku (
Shiojiri)
:3.
Yabuhara-juku (
Kiso (village),
Kiso District)
:4.
Miyanokoshi-juku (
Kiso (town), Kiso District)
:5.
Fukushima-juku
was the thirty-seventh of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto during the Edo period. It was located in the present-day city of Kiso, in the Kiso District of Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It was also number ...
(
Kiso (town), Kiso District)
:6.
Agematsu-juku (
Agematsu, Kiso District)
:7.
Suhara-juku was the thirty-ninth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō, as well as the seventh of eleven stations on the Kisoji. It is located in the present-day village of Ōkuwa, in the Kiso District of Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Japan is an ...
(
Ōkuwa, Kiso District)
:8.
Nojiri-juku (
Ōkuwa, Kiso District)
:9.
Midono-juku (
Nagiso, Kiso District)
:10.
Tsumago-juku
was the forty-second of the sixty-nine post towns on the Nakasendō. It is located in Nagiso, Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It has been restored to its appearance as an Edo-era post town and is now a popular tourist destination.
H ...
(
Nagiso, Kiso District)
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 ...
:11.
Magome-juku
was the forty-third 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 Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It was also the las ...
(
Nakatsugawa)
See also
*
Edo Five Routes
The , sometimes translated as "Five Highways", were the five centrally administered routes, or ''kaidō'', that connected the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (now Tokyo) with the outer provinces during the Edo period (1603–1868). The most ...
**
Tōkaidō (or
53 Stations of the Tōkaidō
The are the rest areas along the Tōkaidō (road), Tōkaidō, which was a coastal route that ran from Nihonbashi in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto.. There were originally 53 government shukuba, post stations along the T ...
)
**
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'' ...
(or
69 Stations of the Nakasendō
69 may refer to:
* 69 (number)
* A year, primarily 69 BC, AD 69, 1969, or 2069
*69 (sex position)
* 69 Hesperia, a main-belt asteroid
Arts and media Music
* ''69'', a 1988 album by A.R. Kane
* 69", a song by Deep Purple from ''Abandon''
* Maj ...
)
**
Kōshū Kaidō
The was one of the five routes or major highways of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Kai Province in modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The route continues from there to connect with the Nakasendō's Shi ...
**
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 ...
**
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 ...
*Other Routes
**
Hokkoku Kaidō
The was a highway in Japan during the Edo period. It was a secondary route, ranked below the Edo Five Routes in importance. Because it was developed for travelers going to Zenkō-ji, it was also called ''Zenkō-ji Kaidō'' (善光寺街道). It ...
**
Mikuni Kaidō was an ancient highway in Japan that stretched from Takasaki-juku (present day Gunma Prefecture) on the Nakasendō to Teradomari-juku (present day Niigata Prefecture) on the Hokurikudō.
History
The separated the Kantō region from Echigo Provin ...
References
{{reflist
Road transport in Japan