Kiso eleven post towns

...The Kiso post towns were characterized by the fact that, in addition to the transportation-related businesses mentioned above, Narai, Yabuhara, Fukushima (Yasawa-cho), Tsumago, and other post towns had between 40 and 100 woodworkers, lacquerware shops, comb shops, and other woodworking businesses, due to their location in beautiful forests and little arable land. The eleven Kiso post towns were small in size, but they were well-established as post towns and stations in the early modern period, and by the end of the Edo period, they had prospered in this narrow gorge with a population of about 35,000, which was astonishing for the time. The Kiso road, which ran through a narrow valley along the Kiso River, was known for the clear water rushing among oddly shaped rocks and bizarre stones, and the beauty of the valley covered with ancient forests, and delighted the eyes of those who traveled along this road. ...

*Some of the terminology used to refer to the "Eleven Post Towns of Kiso" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…木曾路の宿場町の特色は，こうした交通運輸関係業者のほかに，美林地帯であるとともに耕地が少ないといった立地条件から，奈良井，藪原，福島(八沢町)，妻籠などでは40～100軒の木地屋，漆器屋，櫛屋などの木材加工業者を擁していたことである。　木曾十一宿はこのように小規模ながら近世宿駅都市としての形態を整え，幕末にはこの狭い峡谷に当時としては驚異的な約3万5000人の人口を擁して繁栄していた。木曾川に沿って狭い谷間に通じていた木曾路は，奇岩怪石の中を奔流する清流と千古の森林におおわれた渓谷美で知られ，この街道を往来する人々の目を楽しませた。…

※「木曾十一宿」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報