Kisokaidô: Samegai - Station 61

Utagawa Hiroshige - Series of the 69 stations of the Kisokaido: Station Samegai (63th print) (Samegai)

© Trustees of the British Museum

When a daimyo was travelling, his retinues needed lodgings for the night. This print depicts the “six inns” (1) or “Rokken jaya” of Samegai, built for this purpose. Two retainers (2), one carrying a pole arm both with the publisher's seal 林 on their back, make their way towards the buildings, walking past a giant pine tree (3) marking the edge of the station. Past the top of the slope behind them, other retainers (4) walk down the road carrying loads on their shoulders. On the right, a farmer enjoys a smoke from his pipe (5). On the horizon in the background rise the Hira mountains, beyond the unseen Lake Biwa to the west.

In the early impressions the retainers in the foreground wear green robes. In later impressions, these are blue and the publisher’s seal 林 (6) is lost.

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

Arrival at Samegai (left), sketch by Hiroshige in Guide to Kisokaido (Kisoji Meisho zue) published in 1851 (Source Waseda University, Tokyo)

Kisokaido Road ca. 1895

Canal and goods ca. 1905

Samegai and the river in 1805 in "Kisoji Meisho Zue" or Illustrated album of the famous places along the Kiso road (1805)

And now ?

The town of Maibara gets its name from the Shinkansen bullet train railway station. The town was created by merging the three former stations of Kashiwabara, Samegai and Banba. Samegai was known for the river and the purity of its waters. The river was used to carry goods and several warehouses (Tonyaba) were lining its banks. Most stations had only one or two warehouses, but there were seven in Samegai, proof of its economic activities and strategic location. The river passing through the centre of the station is also depicted in the Kiso Meisho Zue dated 1805 (see below).

There were eleven inns in Samegai, plus the famous six inns for retainers. Only one of these is left standing with its special shaped roof. Another dozen of old buildings is scattered around the city. The Samegai River is also famous for its fishes and this is where the first trout farms of Asia was created. We are still very close to Mt.Ibuki and there is plenty of snow in winter.