Ikeda-juku, a bustling post town on the lower highway
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| Townscape that retains the atmosphere of Ikeda-juku |
Shitakaido, an inn town on the lower highway
Shita-kaido is the name of the road corresponding to Kami-kaido (Nakasendo) and Nakakakaido (Kamakura), and was called according to its location.
This Shita Kaido, a side road connecting the Nakasendo and Tokaido highways, runs southward along the Toki River from Makigane Pass, halfway between Ooi-huku (Ena City) and Ookute-juku (Ena City) on the Nakasendo, to Takeori (Ena City), Kamado (Mizunami City), Takayama (Toki City), Ikeda (Tajimi City) and Nagoya, with a total length of 15 ri (about 60 km).
This highway developed after the mid-Edo period.
Unlike the Nakasendo, the Shita Kaido was developed as a route for common people because it was a shorter route and had fewer difficult points of entry into Nagoya Castle.
Because there were no restrictions on passage for common people other than samurai, people used the Shita Kaido for visits to Ontake and Zenkoji temples, and to visit Ise Shrine and Atsuta Shrine.
Prosperous Ikeda-juku
Ikeda-juku was the southernmost inn town in Mino and the most prosperous in the region, with many travelers stopping there as the starting point of the pass before the steep Uchizu Pass.
It was used as a lodging and rest stop for travelers visiting Ise, traveling to Nagoya, and making pilgrimages to Ontake and Saigoku (western provinces).
Especially in early spring, the season for visiting Zengyo-ji Temple, visitors lined up to visit the temple, and 200 to 300 people stopped by every day.
In summer, it was crowded with people visiting Ontake.
Around the beginning of the Edo period, a regular market called Rokusai-ichi was held six times a month.
Firewood and charcoal were sold from nearby villages and exchanged for salt and vegetables, and horse fairs were also held.
The village headman used his wealth to lend land and firewood to ceramic craftsmen, a local industry in Tajimi, and contributed to the subsequent development of the ceramic industry.
At that time, ceramics were loaded by boat at Imawatari Minato and Kaneyama Minato (Kani City) and transported via the Kiso River to Kuwana, Osaka, and Edo.
(On the other hand, ceramics were also transported overland to Shinshu and Tohoku via the Nakaba-kaido Road, which led from the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture to Shinshu.)
According to the “Noshu Junko Ki” written during the Kansei era (1789-1800), Ikeda Machiya Village at that time had 116 houses, 518 people including men and women, and 8 horses.
There was also a doctor, which was rare in this area at that time (“Koike family”).
Therefore, patients came not only from nearby villages but also from a wide range of villages, including Kiso in the east and Inuyama in the west.
Ikeda Machiya Village was well known as an inn town on the lower highway or as a village with a doctor.
According to the “Ikeda Machiya Shopping Street Map,” there were Tokiwa-ya and Iroha-ya innkeepers, Itaya and Yoshino-ya teahouses, Yamatake and Yamasa pottery dealers, and Masuya and Seikichi rice dealers. Pottery dealers included Yamatake and Yamasa, and rice dealers Masuya and Seikichi.
You may have heard your grandfathers and grandmothers speak with these names.
Ikeda Machiya Village also produced such figures as Nomura Sakujuro, a palace carpenter (ordained as a fifth cousin by the Imperial Court of Kyoto), and Koike Isamu, who devoted himself to the liberal civil rights movement during the Meiji era.
With the opening of the railroad in 1900, the center of logistics shifted to the area around Tajimi Station.
Later, Shimo Kaido became National Route 19, and the main role of traffic changed from people to cars.
Even so, buildings and streets still remain that remind us of those days.
Highlights of Ikeda-juku, a lower highway that still remains
According to records from the early Meiji period (1868-1912), the rows of houses in the town stretched east to west for five and a half (600m) and were crowded with innkeepers, teahouses, basket shops, bath houses, pottery dealers, manju (sweet bun) shops, udon noodle shops, and other businesses.
Today, a few buildings that remind us of the town's past still remain along the narrow, gently winding streets.
The house with a lattice on the right used to be a store called “Aburaya Rihachi” that sold rapeseed oil in the past.
At the end of the lattice, you can see the largest “everlasting night light” in the suburbs, which was built in 1826.
In addition, Iroha-ya and an old-fashioned warehouse can still be seen.
Road signpost on the lower street
This road sign stands quietly in the corner of the parking lot of JA Toto Ikeda branch.
The signpost reads, "Right: Tokyo Senkofuji (Zenkoji) Road. Left: KifuTanikumimichi, Left: Nakoya (Nagoya) Ise-michi" is engraved on the road sign.
At a time when there were no accurate maps, these guideposts were reassuring to travelers.
This guidepost was erected in 1879.
Next to it stands the Ikeda-mura Mido Misho Genjo Sho (erected in 1922).
a night-light
Many lanterns are erected along streets and streets, but the one here is the largest in the suburbs.
The lantern is inscribed with the words “Akibayama, safety in the village” to protect the health of the villagers, especially against epidemics, and to ensure the safety of the village and the safety of travelers.
It is located in Ikeda-cho 8-chome.
Eisenji Temple
The sculpture in the main hall of Eisenji Temple is famous as the work of Nomura Sakjuro Kuniyoshi (a great man of Ikeda).
Nomura Sakjuro Kuniyoshi was a master carpenter who constructed the main hall and the gate of Eisenji Temple.
The Eisen-ji Somon is the oldest existing Yakuimon-style gate in Tajimi City with a definite date of construction, and is of great historical value and importance to the region, as it was built by a local carpenter.
As you pass through the temple gate, you will be surprised to see a large ginkgo tree on the right side of the Eisenji precincts, a natural monument of Tajimi City, soaring to the sky with its branches extended.
Ishidozan Meienji Temple's Kannon Hall, the Great Lion Hall dedicated to Kobo Daishi, and other structures stand here.
Eisenji Temple still preserves the historical legacy of Ikeda Machiya.
Ikeda's Great Men (Palace Carpenter: Nomura Sakujuro and Liberal Civil Rights Movement: Isamu Koike)