Hosokute-juku

Hosokute-juku (細久手宿, Hosokute-juku) was the forty-eighth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It is located in former Mino Province in what is now part of the city of Mizunami, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.^[1]

Hosokute-juku 細久手宿
post station
Hiroshige's print of Hosokute-juku, part of the Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō series
General information
Location	Mizunami, Gifu (former Mino Province) Japan
Coordinates	35°25′53.1″N 137°14′02.3″E
Elevation	426 meters
Line(s)	Nakasendō
Distance	364.6 km from Edo
Location Hosokute-juku Location within Gifu Prefecture Show map of Gifu Prefecture Hosokute-juku Hosokute-juku (Japan) Show map of Japan

Hosokute-juku, 2008

History

In the early Edo period, the system of post stations on the Nakasendō was formalized by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1602. The route between Ōkute-juku and Mitake-juku was long and the terrain was difficult, crossing the Biwa-toge Pass, so another post station was established as a resting spot in-between in 1610. This was Hosokute-juku, and it is located within the territory of Owari Domain. The temple of Kaigen-in, the bodaiji of the Toki clan, the shugo of Mino Province in the Muromachi period is located nearby,

Per the 1843 "中山道宿村大概帳" (Nakasendō Shukuson Taigaichō) guidebook issued by the Inspector of Highways (道中奉行, Dōchu-būgyō), the town had a population of 256 people in 65 houses, including one honjin, one waki-honjin, and 24 hatago. Hosokute-juku was 364.6 kilometers to Edo.

The route of the modern highway bypassed Hosokute-juku, so several old buildings of the post station have been preserved, including the honjin, Daikokuya, which is still open as an inn ^[2]

Hosokute-juku in The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō

Utagawa Hiroshige's ukiyo-e print of Hosokute-juku dates from 1835 -1838. The print depicts travelers climbing or descending a steep slope, with paddy fields and a range of mountains in the distance. In front is samurai with a bamboo water canteen suspended from his sword. Following is a woman in green kimono with a powdered white face. Going up the slope are a farmer with a backpack followed by his wife with a sickle. To the left , with only the upper half of his torso in view is a man with two bags, and the post station in the distance.

Neighboring Post Towns

Nakasendō

Ōkute-juku - Hosokute-juku - Mitake-juku

Notes

1. Nakasendo Hosokute-juku Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Ibisoku Co., Ltd. Accessed July 11, 2007.
2. Daikokuya official home page

References

• Izzard, Sebastian (2008). The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido. George Braziller. ISBN 978-0807615935.
• Berna, Cristina (2019). Hiroshige 69 Stations of the Nakasendō. Missys Clan. ISBN 978-2919787661.
• Kishimoto, Yutaka (2016). 中山道浪漫の旅 書き込み手帖. Shinano Mainichi Shimbun. ISBN 978-4784072972. (in Japanese)
• Yagi, Makio (2014). ちゃんと歩ける中山道六十九次 西 藪原宿~京三条大橋. 山と渓谷社. ISBN 978-4635600781. (in Japanese)

External links

• Hiroshige Kiso-Kaido series
• Hosokute-juku on Kiso Kaido Road
• Gifu Nakasendo Guide (in Japanese)