Kanagawa

Japanese: 神奈川 - かながわ

A port and post station on the Tokaido road, located in Tachibana-gun, Musashi Province, in the southern coastal area of Kanagawa Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. In the mid-Kamakura period, Kanagawa-go was the territory of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, and in 1266, Hojo Tokimune exempted the government from paying rice as a laborer's wages. For three years from 1378, the government donated the sail tax (300 mon per tan of sail) from ships entering and leaving the Kanagawa port to the construction of Butsuni-an at Engaku-ji Temple. The payment of sail tax continued thereafter, and in 1394, 10 kanmon was paid almost every month, suggesting that the port was quite large. In 1395, Kanagawa-go was granted the status of an office by Uesugi Norimasa, and the name Kanagawa appears in the Odawara-shu land register. Kanagawa had been a post station since the time of the Hojo clan's rule in Odawara, but in 1601 it was designated as a post station on the Tokaido road. At first, only Kanagawa-cho carried out the relay, but later Aoki-cho in the west joined and formed Kanagawa-juku. According to the "General Register of Inns and Villages," the distance to Kawasaki-juku in the east was 2.5 ri, and to Hodogaya-juku in the west was 1 ri 9 cho. The main inns were located in Kanagawa-cho and Aoki-cho, and the wholesaler's office was located in Kanagawa-cho. In 1803, there were 64 inns. In 1725, there were 34 assistant villages and an assistant village tax of 11,139 koku. The burden of the horse and man relay was too heavy, and requests for reduction were often made, but it increased especially after the arrival of Perry at the end of the Edo period. Kanagawa was also a transit point for transportation and commerce, connecting Edo Bay with the inland villages of Musashi and Sagami. Ships from various countries were anchored at Kanagawa Port in front of Aoki-cho, and in 1791 there were 10 shipping wholesalers and 12 brokers. From the mid-Edo period onwards, Kanagawa-juku became a popular landing point for pilgrims from Edo and Boso to Mt. Fuji and Mt. Oyama, and for people heading to Edo from the Miura Peninsula. The number of inns also increased, bringing prosperity to Kanagawa-juku. When Perry returned in 1854, Kanagawa was used as a reception area for his party, and it became the front line of negotiations with the shogunate. During this time, the black ships anchored off Kanagawa Port for about two months. In 1858, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan was signed, and the port was opened the following year in 1859. Kanagawa was selected as the port of opening, but the shogunate avoided Kanagawa, which was a key transportation point, and chose Yokohama as the port of opening. For a while after the port was opened, consulates from various countries were located in temples in Kanagawa-juku, but by 1861 they had all moved to Yokohama-cho. With the abolition of the train station in 1872, Kanagawa's function as a post station declined, and the center of commerce gradually moved to Yokohama-cho. In 1889, Kanagawa-cho was established centered around the former Kanagawa-juku, was incorporated into Yokohama City in 1901, and Kanagawa Ward was established in 1927.
→Related topics Tokaido

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

武蔵国橘樹(たちばな)郡内，現神奈川県横浜市神奈川区南部海浜部にあった，湊および東海道の宿駅。鎌倉時代中期には神奈河郷は鶴岡八幡宮領で，1266年北条時宗により役夫工米が免除されている。1378年から３年間は神奈河湊出入りの船の帆別銭（帆１反につき300文）が，円覚寺仏日庵造営費用として寄進された。以後も帆別銭の納入は続き，1394年にはほぼ毎月10貫文が納められており，湊の規模は相当大きかったと考えられる。1395年には神奈河郷は上杉憲定に安堵されており，《小田原衆所領役帳》にも神奈川の地名がみえる。神奈川は小田原北条氏支配時からの宿駅であったが，1601年東海道の宿駅に指定された。当初は神奈川町のみで継立を行ったが，のち西の青木町が加わり神奈川宿を構成した。《宿村大概帳》によれば，東の川崎宿までの距離は２里半，西の保土ヶ谷宿までは１里９町。本陣は神奈川町と青木町のそれぞれに，問屋場は神奈川町に置かれた。1803年には旅籠屋64軒を数える。1725年には助郷村34村・助郷高１万1139石となっている。人馬継立役の負担は過重でしばしば軽減願いが出されていたが，とくに幕末のペリー来航以降増大した。　神奈川は江戸湾と武蔵・相模の内陸諸村を結ぶ，交通・商業の中継点でもあった。青木町前面の神奈川湊には諸国の船が停泊，1791年には廻船問屋10軒と仲買12軒があった。また江戸時代中期以降は，江戸や房総方面からの富士山や大山への参詣客や，三浦半島方面から江戸へ向かう人々の上陸地としてにぎわい，旅籠屋も増加，神奈川宿の繁盛をもたらしている。1854年のペリー再来航の際には一行の応接場が神奈川に置かれて，幕府との交渉の第一線となった。この間黒船は神奈川湊沖に約２ヵ月間停泊していた。1858年日米修好通商条約が結ばれて翌1859年開港実施，開港場は神奈川と決まったが，幕府は交通の要地である神奈川を避け，横浜を開港場とした。開港後しばらくは各国の領事館が神奈川宿内の寺院に置かれていたが，1861年までにすべて横浜町に移った。1872年の伝馬所廃止により宿駅としての機能は衰え，商業の中心も次第に横浜町へ移った。1889年旧神奈川宿を中心に神奈川町が成立，1901年横浜市に編入され，1927年神奈川区が成立した。
→関連項目東海道

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