Okazaki-shuku - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

was the thirty-eighth of the fifty-three stations

53 Stations of the Tokaido

The are the rest areas along the Tōkaidō, which was a coastal route that ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto.-Stations of the Tōkaidō:...

of the Tōkaidō

Tokaido (road)

The ' was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo to Kyoto in Japan. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name....

. It is located in the present-day city of Okazaki

Okazaki, Aichi

is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of August 2011, the city had an estimated population of 373,339 and a population density of 964 persons per km². The total area was 387.24 km².-Geography:...

, in Aichi Prefecture

Aichi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

History

Okazaki-shuku was a part of the flourishing castle town

Castle town

A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns are common in Medieval Europe. Good example include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles...

surrounding Okazaki Castle

Okazaki Castle

is a Japanese castle located in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Okazaki Castle was home to the Honda clan, daimyō of Okazaki Domain, but the castle is better known for its association with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Tokugawa clan...

, the headquarters for Okazaki Domain

Okazaki Domain

was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in eastern Mikawa Province , Japan. It was centered on Okazaki Castle in what is now the city of Okazaki, Aichi...

. The classic ukiyoe print by Ando Hiroshige (Hoeido edition) from 1831 to 1834 depicts a Yahagibashi, one of the few bridges permitted by the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

on the Tōkaidō, and one of the longest bridges built in Japan during the early Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

. Okazaki Castle is depicted in the distance on the far shore of the river. Following the Meiji restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, with the construction of railroads, the route of what became the Tokaido Main Line

Tokaido Main Line

The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities...

was laid down through the nearby village of Hane (羽根村 Hane-mura) to the south. Unlike Goyu-shuku

Goyu-shuku

was the thirty-fifth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in Goyu-chō in the city of Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. A pine tree colonnade, one of the few remnants from the Edo period post town, is a well-known tourist spot...

and Akasaka-juku

Akasaka-juku (Tokaido)

was the thirty-sixth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in present-day Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was only from Goyu-juku, the preceding post station.-History:...

, but this did not cause a huge economic decline to Okazaki-shuku. There was a horse-drawn rail line connecting Okazaki to the train station, as well as a teachers' school, which kept the town alive. On the other hand, Okazaki was not able to compete with the growth of Toyohashi

Toyohashi, Aichi

is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on August 1, 1906. As of January 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 383,691 and a density of 1,468.62 persons per km². The total area is . By size, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-largest city until March 31,...

, which was located directly on the railway, and which gained city-status first. Because of fires during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

and the subsequent rebuilding of Okazaki in the post-war years, there are few remnants of the post town

Shukuba

were post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shukueki . These post stations were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation...

remaining today.

Neighboring post towns

Tōkaidō

Fujikawa-shuku

was the thirty-seventh of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the present-day city of Okazaki, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was approximately from Akasaka-juku, the preceding post station...

- Okazaki-shuku - Chiryū-juku

Chiryu-juku

was the thirty-ninth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the present-day city of Chiryū in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was the westernmost post town in Mikawa Province, and was from Nihonbashi, the start of the Tōkaidō, so it took approximately 10 days to for average...

Shio no Michi

was an old kaidō in ancient Japan and was used to transport salt from the ocean to the inland portions of central Honshū. In the Middle Ages, salt was brough both from the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean to Shinano Province for processing...

's Sanshū Kaidō

Kugyūdaira-juku - Okazaki-shuku (ending location)

History

Neighboring post towns

Further reading