Kisokaidô: Musa - Station 66

Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 69 Stations of the Kisokaido: Musa (68th print) (Musa)

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

The country around Musa was flat and easy to traverse. Several rivers had to be crossed, such as the Hino-gawa River where a pontoon bridge (1) has been erected. A heavily laden old man (2) followed by a traveller in a plaid jacket crosses the bridge. On the right, a samurai (3) waits on the river bank while two pilgrims (4) are coming in the other direction on the far pontoon. Behind them a woman (5) moves to catch up with a man waiting on the other bank. In the distance a traveller passes in front of a shack (6) where sits a figure seen in silhouette. Reeds and spare scrub pine line the horizon.

A mistake was made in the sequence of the print: it was numbered (六拾六) 66 (7) instead of 67. This was never corrected in the block, but is sometimes adjusted by hand. In some later impressions, the river in the foreground is printed solid blue rather than in gradation as here.

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

Pontoon bridge (picture dated 1890)

And now ?

A path still leads towards the location of the former pontoon bridge. But is has disappeared a long time ago and a modern bridge has been built upriver. Musa was an important station with 183 houses, one honjin, one waki-honjin and 23 inns. It is now a section of Omihachiman city and several old houses and the waki-honjin are still standing.

It was a prosperous area as the soil around Musa is fertile and even today it is one of Japan’s main rice production area. Before hemp and linen were cultivated. But the station began to decline at the end of the 19^th century when the railway “forgot” to add a stop and after the war when the textile factories closed. However there is recently a revival as several manufacturing facilities were built, taking advantage of the cheap land and excellent road and rail connections to Osaka and Nagoya.

The center of Omihachiman City lies closer to the lake. In 1585, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Oda Nobunaga’s successor) who controlled Japan did not have any heir and he adopted his nephew Hidetsugu. He gave him the Omi Province and Hidetsugu built a castle and a new town at Omihachiman. The town grew, partly with the influx of the people fleeing the destruction of Azuchi Castle (see Station Echigawa). The moats of Omihachimangu Castle were linked to Lake Biwa and later transformed into a canal used to transport goods. This ensured the town’s prosperity. But in 1595, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had a son. Hidetsugu was forced to retire as a monk and then to commit suicide in 1595. The administrative centre of the province was moved to Otsu and the Omihachimangu Castle was abandoned. However the town thrived thanks to the canals and even today has kept its ancient atmosphere. A temple named Himure-Hachimangu Temple has been built where the old castle used to stand.

Between the stations of Toriimoto, Musa and Moriyama, there was an alternative road closer to the lake shore named Chosenji-Kaido or Korean route. It was a road linking Kyoto to the castles in Azuchi, Omihachimangu and Hikone and followed by the Korean Ambassadors. On this road, there was an intermediate station named Kagami-shuku.

The sacred island of Chikubu-jima is a wonderful excursion, where one can visit the numerous temples and shrines, especially the Shinto Tsukubusuma Shrine and the Hogon-ji Temple established in 724. It is one the three main temples of the Shingon School.