Kisokaidô: Hosokute - Station 48

Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 69 stations of the Kisokaido: Station Hosokute (50th print) (Hosokute)

© Trustees of the British Museum

When the Nakasendo road was established in the early years of the 17th century, Hosokute station did not exist. It was added later when the distance of 15km/10mi between Okute and Mitake was considered too long. A number of travellers can be seen making their way along the road. In the foreground, a samurai (1) carries a bamboo-shaped water bottle (2) suspended from his long sword, its handle carefully wrapped against the elements. Walking behind him is a woman (3), in green, possibly his wife her face powdered white. Coming the opposite way a farmer (4) walks between two pine trees, followed by his wife dressed in blue cottons and with a sickle in hand. On the left, a porter climbs into view and below him, the buildings of the station (5) in the Nobi plain. Behind the paddy fields in the distance, there are gray mountains and a range behind them in blue.

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

Village in the mountains (ca.1905)

And now ?

Today Hosokute is a section of Mizunami as was Okute, the previous station. The road goes through the Biwa-toge pass and is lined with some well-preserved markers. There is only one inn in this isolated part of the road, but it is an old one, with the first construction dating back to the creation of the road. The current building is from 1850 and the inn is still in operation today. It is the subject of Nishijima’s print below.

This region is hit by rural flight, with young people leaving the countryside to look for jobs in Tokyo, Osaka or Nagoya. Today mostly older people live in this area. Hosokute is also home to the Toki clan family shrine, built in 1443. The Toki clan dominated this area between the 10th century and the 16th century, based in Tarui (see station 57). It was a branch of the Minamoto family and was defeated in 1530 by the Saito clan who in turn was forced to join the Oda clan in 1575.