was the sixty-second of the sixty-nine stations

69 Stations of the Nakasendo

The are the rest areas along the Nakasendō, which ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto. The route stretched approximately and was an alternate trade route to the Tōkaidō.-Stations of the Nakasendō:...

 of the Nakasendō

Nakasendo

The , also called the , was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces...

. It is located in the present-day city of Maibara

Maibara, Shiga

is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.As of August 1, 2006, the city has an estimated population of 42,154. The total area is 223.1 km².- History :...

, Shiga Prefecture

Shiga Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

History

Banba-juku was originally a post town along the Tōsandō

Tosando

was an old Japanese geographical region that made up the gokishichidō system and was situated along the central mountains of northern Honshū, Tōhoku region....

 during the Asuka period

Asuka period

The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...

. However, in 1611, during the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, when a port in Maibara was established, it became part of the Nakasendō, connecting travelers on their way to Ōtsu-juku

Otsu-juku

was the last of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō, as well as the last of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It was from the previous post town, Kusatsu-juku, and was located in Ōmi Province...

. Positioned between mountains, it was in an ideal location for travelers.

In 1843, the post station had 808 residents and 178 buildings. Among the buildings, there was one honjin

Honjin

thumb|250px|The honjin at [[Inaba Kaidō]]'s [[Ōhara-shuku]]. is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations during the later part of the Edo period.-Evolution of Honjin:...

, one sub-honjin, and ten hatago

Hatago

were Edo period lodgings for travelers at shukuba 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...

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