Ashigara Pass

A pass on the border between Minamiashigara City, Kanagawa Prefecture and Oyama Town, Shizuoka Prefecture. It is 759 meters above sea level. Mount Kintoki (1,212 meters), the highest peak of the Hakone outer rim, can be seen about 5 kilometers to the south. Travel is easier both up and down the pass than the Hakone Pass. The pass is covered with only Japanese kaya and low shrubs, so visibility is good, and the view over both Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures is magnificent. In 802 (Enryaku 21), the pass was closed due to the eruption of Mount Fuji, but was reopened the following year. At the end of the Heian period, during the Gosannen War, Shinrasaburo Yoshimitsu taught the mysteries of the sho to his vassal Toyohara Tokiaki, who had come from Kyoto to pursue him, on a night of the harvest moon (there is still a tomb of Shinrasaburo Fuefuki at the pass today). There are many historical tales of people passing through the pass, including that of Sugawara no Takasue no Musume, author of the Sarashina Diary, as well as nobles, samurai, and literary figures. In the temples and temples in the mountains nearby, you can see some excellent Buddhist statues from the Heian and Kamakura periods. During the Edo period, the Yagurazawa Highway (a side road of the Tokaido) was used to transport the goods of merchants from the Kosunzuen region to Edo. There is a remains of a checkpoint at Yagurasawa on the eastern foot of the mountain, and Yagurasawa, Sekimoto (Minamiashigara City) and Takenoshita (Oyama Town) were bustling post towns on both the eastern and western foot of the mountain. After the Meiji period, transport was provided by land transport companies, but the opening of the Tokaido Main Line (now the Gotemba Line) caused a sharp drop in traffic on the pass. Today, the road opens up from the Gotemba Interchange on the Tomei Expressway, and hiking trails to Mt. Kintoki and Hakone (Sengokuhara) lead to the pass, offering magnificent views.

[Yukio Asaka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

神奈川県南足柄市と静岡県小山町(おやまちょう)との境界にある峠。標高759メートル。南方約5キロメートルに箱根外輪山の最高峰金時(きんとき)山（1212メートル）が望まれる。交通は上り下りとも箱根峠よりも容易。峠はカヤと低木に覆われるだけで見通しがよく、神奈川、静岡両県にわたる展望は雄大。802年（延暦21）富士山の噴火のためふさがれたが翌年復旧。平安時代の末、後三年の役のとき新羅三郎義光(しんらさぶろうよしみつ)が、おりからの中秋の名月の夜に、京から追ってきた家臣豊原時秋に笙(しょう)の奥義(おうぎ)を伝授した物語（現在も峠に新羅三郎笛吹の笛塚がある）をはじめ、『更級(さらしな)日記』の著者菅原孝標女(すがわらのたかすえのむすめ)ほか、公卿(くぎょう)、武士、文人ら数多くの通行史話が残され、ここに近い山間の寺堂には、平安・鎌倉時代の仏像の秀作もみられる。江戸時代には矢倉沢往還(やぐらさわおうかん)（東海道の脇(わき)往還）の通路となり、甲駿豆遠(こうすんずえん)地方から江戸向けの商人荷物の輸送にも利用された。東麓(とうろく)の矢倉沢に関所跡があり、矢倉沢、関本（南足柄市）と竹之下（小山町）は東西両麓の宿場としてにぎわっていた。明治以後は陸運会社による輸送が行われていたが、東海道本線（現、御殿場(ごてんば)線）の開通で峠の交通量は急減した。いまは東名高速道路の御殿場インターチェンジから車道が開け、さらに金時山、箱根（仙石原）へのハイキングコースも通じ、すばらしい展望が楽しめる。

［浅香幸雄］

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