Wada post-town in Nagano prefecture of central Japan was on Nakasendou highway which linked Edo (old name of Tokyo) and Kyoto. There is a difficult pass to go to next post-town (Shimo-suwa); the altitude of the Wada pass is around 1600m and the elevation difference is 800m. In addition to the difficulty, the distance to the next post-town is 22km (almost all travelers walked back then). Therefore, many travelers stayed at Wada and went over the pass next day.
The post-town suffered from a big fire
in March, 1861. Locals worked night and day to rebuild the town, because the
princess would have stayed at the town in November
during her trip to Edo in order to marry the Tokugawa shogun.
中山道の和田宿は、京都側の下諏訪宿まで22キロ、標高差800ｍの和田峠（標高は約1600ｍ）があるので、宿泊する人が多い宿場町でした。江戸末期、1861年３月の大火で本陣を含め焼失しましたが、11月の皇女和宮様の通行に備え、昼夜兼行で再建しました。
Honjin (inn for a daimyo lord and a noble)、本陣
The residence area (above) remains, but most of the guest area was sold. It was on the road in front at present.
家人が住んだ「居室棟」が残っています（上の写真）。国史跡ですが、大名が宿泊する「座敷棟」（手前道路側）はほとんどが売却されました。
Façade of Honjin. The role of the post-town ended soon after the Edo period (1603～1868, Tokugawa shogun ruled). The Honjin was used as a village office, then it was used as an agriculture cooperative office until 1984 (lower right). Afterwards, the building was taken apart and repaired; it was wonderful. I really thank to the people who preserved it!
There are many stones on the roof. Nails were not used to fix the roof. There is a guest entrance on the right end.
本陣正面。明治以降の本陣は、村役場や農協事務所として1984年まで使われていました（右下）。その建物を、五年かけて解体修理し復元しました。よくぞ残してくれました！
板屋根に置き石が多いのは、釘を使わずに屋根を葺くためだそうです（展示品「歴史紀行」の和田宿の説明から）。右端が宿泊者の玄関です。
The view from the guest entrance hall. A spec of a room is become higher as you go inner.
玄関から見ると奥へと部屋が繋がっています。奥に行くほど、スペックがあがります。
The innermost room. 一番奥の部屋
There is a bathroom for a main guest behind the innermost room. It is a tatami mat room. A box containing sand is set under the toilet bowl. The box was changed after each defecation. There is a urinal in front.
部屋の奥に、畳敷きの上便所があります。ポットン型でなく、砂が入った箱が置かれ、排便毎に取り替えました。手前は男性用です。
The toilet for a normal guest has a wooden floor and a tank under the bowl.
下便所は板張りのポットン便所です。
The photo above shows the living room for residents. Only a family head and his oldest son could sit on the tatami mat space. They were so special, because a family head controlled a domestic life including a marriage and his son inherited all family asset.
こちらは居住者用のスペース。主人と長男だけは畳に座りました。特別ですね。明治の民法でも長男がすべてを相続する家督相続でした。
There is a wooden floor room between the living room and the entrance. The space is used as an exhibition room such as old documents, utensils and so on.
居間から玄関へと続く板の間には宿場について展示されています。什器もあります。
History road museum、歴史の道資料館
The museum was an inn “Kawachi-ya”.
資料館は旅籠の河内屋でした。
The room at the first floor faces the road. The shouji sliding doors intake sunlight. The room in the 2nd floor has same kind of doors. It was usually prohibited to look down a procession of a daimyo lord from the 2nd floor. I wonder whether they shut the wooden doors outside of shouji while a lord passed in front.
一階の街道側。二階の街道側も障子が広く、東海道・関宿とは違います。二階から行列を見下ろせますが、よかったのでしょうか。それとも、締め切ったのでしょうか。
The irori fireplace space and tatami mat rooms behind on the 1st floor.
一階の土間横のいろりから見た座敷です。
There are raised floor rooms behind the tatami rooms. A noble person would have stayed there.
本陣ではありませんが、座敷の奥には上段の間があります。相当高貴な人が泊まったのでしょう。
Eating utensils are exhibited in the room. The tableware on the upper shelf was used at a formal dinner such as a wedding. The village head owned the sets for sixty people. The exhibits remind me of their party.
室内には、当時を偲ぶ什器が展示されています。名主家には上段の一汁三菜用組椀は60人分用意されていました。
There are exhibits even on the earthen floor. Footwear, lunch boxes and so on are displayed.
土間にも展示品が並べられています。
Waste paper is used as a part of the lantern (I’m not sure it is a lantern). Paper was precious back then. I like it!
階段に置かれていた行灯？には反古紙が使われています。紙は貴重でした。いい感じですね。
Daikoku-ya、大黒屋
The building was also an inn and it is opened to the public.
こちらも旅籠でした。
The room on the 2nd floor was used as a room for employees. A ladder was removed in the night in order to prevent employees from escaping. It’s too bad!
二階の使用人の部屋は、階段を外して、逃げられないようにしていました。よくないですねえ。
Obsidian stone tool museum and Forestry museum、黒曜石石器資料館と林業資料室
It is behind the history road museum “Kawachi-ya”.
河内屋（歴史の道資料館）さんの奥にあります。
Obsidian stone was used as arrow head and so on in the Stone Age. Obsidian stone, which was quarried near Wada pass, was delivered across Japan.
石器時代に矢じりなどとして使われていた黒曜石は、和田峠で採掘され日本各地に供給されていました。
We can learn a lot in forestry museum. Forest keeps thirty times as much water as bald mountain. And, the sediment run-off volume of forest is 1/170 of it of bald mountain. The photo on the lower left shows people after deer hunting in 1953. Deer is considered as harmful animal nowadays because it eats crops. However, it was a blessing of a forest.
林業資料室では森のことがよく分かります。森林があることで、山の貯水量は裸地の30倍になり、土砂流出量は1/170になるそうです。左下は1953年の写真。鹿は害獣扱いですが、森の恵みです。
Old Nakasendou highway、旧中山道
Old houses remain in Wada post-town. The building on the left was also an inn. The highway leads to Wada pass.
古い家を残す和田宿。左の建物も旅館でした。街道の先は和田峠へ。
If you go to the opposite side of Wada pass, you can find the stone monument “Treats to three thousand monks”. Locals built the monument “Treats one thousand monks” in 1777, and they achieved the goal. So, they added two horizontal lines; it meant that they upped the goal from one (“一” in Chinese character) to three (“三”). It has been a pleasure for Buddhists to support monks.
和田峠と反対側へ向かうと、三千僧接待碑がありました。1777年に、千人の旅をする僧を接待することを発願して建てた碑ですが、結願し、千を三千に掘り改めました。お接待を功徳とする仏教徒らしい振る舞いですね。
The stone monument on the highway side shows thanks to earthworm. Earthworm makes good soil for farming and it was a material of antipyretic medication. There is an earthworm shrine near there. It’s very Japanese.
これはミミズの碑です。近くにはミミズを祀る蚯蚓（きゅういん）神社があります。作物がよく育つ土を作ってくれて、解熱剤にもなったミミズへの感謝です。日本人らしいですね。
Visited in June, 2023
Reference website、参考（NPO：和田のあしたを考える会のサイト）: https://www.wadajuku.com/index.html (in Japanese), accessed in January 2024
Previous post (neighboring post-town of Wada): Nagakubo
post-town and museums（2/2）、長久保宿と資料館（part2）
Next post (Post-town on Nakasendou highway in the same prefecture): Motoseba history museum、本洗馬歴史の里資料館
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