Fun of Good Old Japanese - 江戸・明治に学ぶ　楽しむ生き方

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 800 ｍの和田峠（標高は約 1600 ｍ）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...

Nagawa history museum 、長和の里 歴史館 The museum is near Nagakubo  post-town  in Nagano prefecture of central Japan. The post-town was on Nakasendou  highway  which linked Edo (old name of Tokyo) and Kyoto in the  Edo period  (1603 ～ 1868).  The town museum preserves and exhibits old documents, utensils and so on . 中山道長久保宿（長野県長和町 ）から少し離れた場所にある 古文書や民具の収蔵・展示施設 です。 Historical items are displayed on the right side of the exhibition room . The photo on the lower left shows the bomb container and arrows which was used in the Wada pass battle in 1864. 展示室の右側は歴史の展示 です。 1864 年の和田峠の戦い（京を目指す天狗党 / 水戸藩浪士らと高島藩・松本藩の連合軍と戦い、天狗党は難なく突破）の合戦絵図とともに、水戸浪士が使用した矢と大砲の砲弾を運んだ桶も展示されています（左下）。 At the left side and the center of the exhibition room,  items about post-town and old articles for everyday use  are exhibited such as tools for silkworm culture. 展示室の中央と左側は、 宿場に関する展示品と民具、奥の壁際には養蚕を中心にした道具 が展示されています。 The wooden rack for carrying a load on the right has tricolor straps. I...

Nagakubo post-town in Nagano prefecture of central Japan was developed when Nakasendou highway was constructed; the highway linked Edo (old name of Tokyo) and Kyoto. The post-town is between two difficult passes, so many travelers stayed there and went over the pass next day. However, the town changed to a farming village after the motorway and the railway were constructed. Both new ways were built outside the town, thus the old town scenery remains. Three houses are opened to the public. I wonder why Nagakubo isn’t a busy tourist spot. 長野県の長久保宿 は、中山道の開設に伴って作られた集落です。難所の和田峠（ 1531m ）と笠取峠（ 900m ）の間にあり、多くの旅人が宿泊しました。しかし、車道と鉄道が建設されると農村へと姿を変えていきました。車道や鉄道が街中を通らなかったおかげで、 本陣をはじめ街がよく残っていて、３軒が公開 されています。人気観光地になっていないのが不思議なぐらいです。 The old highway is an upslope and leads to Kasatori pass (900m). The house on the left was probably built before 1731; it was a  brewer “Narukamaya” , but it is a private residence at present. It has  udatsu  firewalls at both sides, which is a symbol o...