Kisokaidô: Fukushima - Station 37

Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 69 stations of the Kisokaido: Fukushima (38th print) (Fukushima)

(Edition done in 1950's by Kyoto Hanga-in under the supervision of Narazaki Muneshige, the most faithful to the first edition)

Fukushima was the main administrative and economic center of the Kiso Valley and one of the four most important checkpoints of the country (sekisho). It was a key station on the road. Here travellers had to get their passes approved by government inspectors before they could continue their journey. In the background, two travelers (1) kneel before an official as their documents are examined. In the foreground, a porter (3) with loaded panniers passes in front of an elderly samurai (4) with a stick walking away from the barrier. His two swords are protected by orange sheaths. Behind, a man with his face hidden by a large green cloak and a sedge hat and two travelers approach the gate.

This print had a few colors modifications. For example, the blue cloth (5) under the eaves became white with the Kinjudo publisher’s emblem; the cloak of the man goes from green to white with blue stripes and the sheaths of the samurai’s swords become blue.

(Source: The 69 stations of the Kisokaido, Sebastian Izzard, Brazillier 2008)

Fukushima and its checkpoint in "Kisoji Meisho Zue" or Illustrated album of the famous places along the Kiso road (1805)

Fukushima and Kiso river in 1875

Fukushima in 1896

And now ?

Kiso-Fukushima was and remains today the largest of the Kisoji stations. It is the administrative centre of the Kiso Valley and has also lively commercial activities. From the 12th to 16th century, it was the seat of the Kiso clan castle. In the 17th century, the town was awarded to the Owari clan based in Nagoya, a clan related to the Tokugawa Shogun. After the Battle of Sekigahara where they fought gallantly, the Yamamura clan were appointed as magistrates and given the hereditary title position of “Daikan”. They had the responsibility over the impressive checkpoint, the control of the travelers, the local tribunal and the management of timber, the main resource of the area.

A small part of the Yamamura mansion built in 1723 near the ruins of the old Kiso castle is still visible and is now a museum. The barrier was in operation until February 1869, but was demolished when the new government tried to rid the country of all vestiges of the Tokugawa power. It was rebuilt identically in 1977. Two larges gates North and South allowed travelers to enter and exit and next to them were rooms for the soldiers. Travelers entered and went to kneel in the sandy courtyard in front of the magistrate who examined their papers. The magistrate was seated in an elevated room on a cushion, next to a brazier and a small desk. In the back, there was another small room where inspections could be done privately, especially if there was doubt concerning the gender of the traveller. Families of the lords were held as hostages in Edo and the shogunate was always worried that they would try to flee, opening the opportunity to start a rebellion. Youngsters, especially girls needed therefore a special pass and were inspected thoroughly. Pilgrims could travel rather freely and there were many pilgrims in Fukushima coming to pay their respects to the sacred Mt.Ontake. In 1843, there were 14 inns and today, it is one of the rare places in the valley with a higher number of inns, thanks to tourism.

Next to it is an official notice board in wood (kosatsuba) dating from 1838. These notice boards were erected in most villages and wooden plaques were posted with new rules, edicts and other regulations. The Kozenji Temple is one of the three main temples in the Valley. It was built in the 15th century and is the Yamamura clan ancestral temple. The “Zen” garden named Kan’untei (Garden for observing the clouds) was created in 1693 by garden master Shigemori Mihei. It consists of a large flat area of small pebbles, with fifteen rocks of various sizes in three different groups. The pebbles are raked in broad curving pattern suggesting a sea of clouds; the rocks are the peaks of mountains rising above the clouds. The three groups of three, five and seven rocks relate to the critical ages of children, ages where they go to the temple on November 15th to ask for the gods’ protection. It is an empty space, but full of movement.

Fukushima town is structured like a medieval town with small narrow streets designed to slow down any invading force. The houses are overlooking the freely flowing river below. There are many old buildings, lacquer shops that opened for business many generations ago and old inns which are in operation since the Edo period.

On the way to the next station Agematsu, we reach the famous Kakehashi suspension bridge. It does not cross the river but is set along the cliff, parallel to the precipice. The bridge over 100m long was build ca. 1410 and was repaired many times until 1647 when it was destroyed in a fire. A stone wall along the cliff was built in 1648, but the crossing was still terrifying. A toll wooden bridge was built across the river in 1879, but was washed away by a flood in 1884; another bridge was built in 1910 and the current concrete and iron bridge was built in 1963. But the traces of the suspended bridge can still be seen....