Kanaya-juku - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

was the twenty-fourth of the fifty-three stations

53 Stations of the Tokaido

The are the rest areas along the Tōkaidō, which was a coastal route that ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto.-Stations of the Tōkaidō:...

of the Tōkaidō

Tokaido (road)

The ' was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo to Kyoto in Japan. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name....

. It is located in what is now part of Shimada

Shimada, Shizuoka

is a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2010, the city has an estimated population of 100,846 and a population density of 319 persons per km². The total area is 315.88 km².-Geography:...

, Shizuoka Prefecture

Shizuoka Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...

, 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...

. 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....

, it was the easternmost post station of Tōtōmi Province

Totomi Province

was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .-History:...

History

Kanaya-juku was built up on the right bank of the Ōi River

Oi River

The is a river in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.-Geography:The Ōi River flows from the Akaishi Mountains, the branch of the Japanese Southern Alps which form the border between Shizuoka, Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures. These mountains, with peaks ranging from 2000–3000 meters, are characterized by...

across from Shimada-juku

Shimada-juku

was the twenty-third of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now part of Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.-History:...

. There were over 1,000 buildings in the post town, including three 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 51 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...

. Travelers had an easy travel to Nissaka-shuku

Nissaka-shuku

was the twenty-fifth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now part of the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.-History:...

, which was about 6.5 km (4 mi) away. However, whenever the river's banks overflowed, travelers were not able to pass through Kanaya and on to Shimada-juku, as the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

had expressly forbidden the construction of any bridge on the Ōi River.

The classic ukiyoe print by Ando Hiroshige (Hoeido edition) from 1831–1834 depicts a daimyo

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

procession on sankin kotai
Sankin kotai
was a policy of the shogunate during most of the Edo period of Japanese history. The purpose was to control the daimyo. In adopting the policy, the shogunate was continuing and refining similar policies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1635, a law required sankin kōtai, which was already an established...

crossing the river. The daimyo is riding in a kago
Kago
A ' is a Japanese type of litter, suspended by a single crossbeam, carried by two men, usually used to transport one person at a time. The front and back of the kago is always covered; the sides can be left open, or encased by folding screens. This should not be confused with the more elaborate...

, held about the water by a make-shift platform carried by numerous porters. His retainers are attempting to wade cross the river. In the background, a small village is shown in the foothills.

History

Further reading