Shimosuwa-shuku

Shimosuwa-shuku (下諏訪宿, Shimosuwa-shuku) was the twenty-ninth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō, as well as being the ending location of the Kōshū Kaidō. It is located in the present-day town of Shimosuwa, Suwa District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

Hiroshige's print of Shimosuwa-shuku, part of the series The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō

Lake Suwa

History

First built around 1601,^[1] Shimosawa-shuku flourished as a post town because it was located between two difficult mountain passes, Wada Pass and Shiojiri Pass. The town's onsens made it a heavily used rest area.^[1] It also served as the entrance to the Suwa Taisha.

Records show that in 1843, Shimosuwa-juku had 1,345 residents and 315 buildings. Among the building, there was one honjin, one sub-honjin, and 40 hatago.^{[citation needed]}

Neighboring post towns

Nakasendō

Wada-shuku - Shimosuwa-shuku - Shiojiri-shuku

Kōshū Kaidō

Kamisuwa-shuku - Shimosuwa-shuku (ending location)

References

1. Shimosuwa-shuku Aruki-net Archived 2007-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. Shimosuwa Chamber of Commerce. Accessed July 16, 2007.

36°04′34.9″N 138°05′25.7″E