Ome Highway - Oume Highway

A road that runs from Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo to Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture. In the Edo period, it separated from the Koshu Kaido at Oiwake in Shinjuku, passing through Nakano, Ome, Daibosatsu Pass, and Enzan, before rejoining the Koshu Kaido in the eastern outskirts of Kofu. In the Meiji period, the route over Daibosatsu Pass was changed to Yanagisawa Pass. It was also called Nariki Kaido because lime from Nariki Village, near Ome, was transported for use in the construction of Edo Castle. It was used as a back road of the Koshu Kaido, and is said to have been frequently used by patriots and those with criminal records in the late Edo period. It was also used to transport forest products such as firewood and charcoal, and agricultural products from the new fields of Musashino. A regular market was held in Ome, a valley settlement on the Tama River, to trade mountain products, and a wholesaler of agricultural products flourished in Nakano.

[Yoshikazu Nakajima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東京都新宿区から山梨県甲府市へ至る道路。江戸時代には新宿の追分で甲州街道と分かれ、中野、青梅、大菩薩(だいぼさつ)峠、塩山(えんざん)を経て、甲府東郊でふたたび甲州街道に合した。明治になって大菩薩峠越えを柳沢(やなぎさわ)峠越えに変更した。青梅に近い成木(なりき)村の石灰を江戸城工事用に運んだので成木街道ともよばれた。甲州街道の裏街道として利用され、江戸末期には志士や凶状持ちがよく通ったという。薪炭(しんたん)などの林産物や武蔵野(むさしの)新田の農産物の輸送にも利用された。多摩川の谷口集落である青梅には定期市(いち)が立って山の物産の取引にあたり、中野には農産物の集荷問屋が栄えた。

［中島義一］

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