Kisokaidô: Magome - Station 43

Keizai Eisen - Series of the 69 stations of the Kisokaido: Station Magome (44th print), Magome station seen from the pass (Magome shuku toge yori embo-no-zu)

© Trustees of the British Museum

There are 8km/5mi between Tsumago, the previous station and Magome and the road is steep, going through a 800m/2500ft high pass. From the pass, the view is magnificent with the village (1) in the valley and Mt.Ena (2) in the background. On the road, we see two palanquin bearers: one (3) carries his empty vehicle over his shoulder while his partner (4) reties the straps of his sandal. Climbing up towards them is another traveler, but only his hat is visible. On the far curve of the road, an ox herd (5) rides his animal having passed by the O-taki waterfall (or Men waterfall).

The early impressions are fully signed. A variant from this state omits Mt.Ena from the background. The print from the British Museum above is not signed, so it is a later printing. In subsequent editions, the printing becomes coarser and the gradation on the mountain is further reduced.

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

Magome In the valley after the pass

Magome by night

The paddy fields after the pass when the valley opens

The arrival at Magome with the water wheels

And now ?

We are at 326km/203mi from Edo. In 1843, this village had 717 inhabitants in 69 households, one honjin, one waki-honjin and 18 inns. Magome is the last station on the Kisoji, the Kiso valley road and travelling west, the road enters the Mino province. The village was partially destroyed in a fire in 1895, but as with the previous station Tsumago, it was reconstructed and repaired and is now one of the best preserved station on the whole journey.

Shimazaki Toson (1872-1943), one of Japan’s great novelists was born in Magome where his father was in charge of maintaining the honjin. In his semi-autobiographical novels such as “Before dawn”, he tells us about the life in the village at the end of the 19^th century and the changes that the Japanese society underwent during the Meiji period: "[Within the post town], both sides of the highway have been built up with stone walls, step by step, grade by grade and the people’s homes are constructed atop of these. To stave off the wind and snow as much as possible, rocks are placed on the wooden plank roofs of the houses, which are lined up to the right and left….. Although it can be said that [the town] lies in the midst of the mountains, a broad sky opens in the direction of the foothills of Mt.Ena, and the location is such that one can view the broad plain of Mino. Somehow the atmosphere of the West [Western Japan] seems to pass through the place." (in Walking the Kiso Road by William Scott Wilson)

The renovated honjin is now a museum dedicated to Shimazaki. The main Buddhist temple Eisho-i was founded in 1661 and the main hall was built between 1789 and 1801. It is possible to stay there for the night. In the village, the restored buildings are lining the main road, giving it an atmosphere of "old Japan" and this is what the numerous tourists are seeking......

The road through the mountain and forest is a superb hike, passing in front of waterfalls such as the Waterfall of the Men shown in Eisen’s print above or the Waterfall of the Women further down the path. There are also the ruins of a checkpoint the purpose of which was to control the smuggling of timber. It is in this area that the true story of samurai coming to defend a poor village took place, the story which inspired the movie “The Seven Samurai” by Kurosawa Akira.