Checkpoint - Sekisho

Japanese: 関所 - せきしょ

A gate set up at a key transportation hub or border, used for defense in times of war and to inspect the passage of passengers and cargo in normal times. In ancient times, they were called "guide" or "sen," but more accurately, the former referred to a place where the passports of passengers were inspected to determine whether they were suspicious, while the latter referred to a place where a moat or fence was set up to prevent passage.

[Yoshinari Maruyama]

Ancient

It is said that the history of barriers in Japan began during the reign of Empress Jingu, when Wake Barrier (Wake Town, Okayama Prefecture) was established to defend against a rebellion led by King Oshikuma. The Taika Reforms (645) established laws regarding barriers and gave out bell seals, and the barrier system was finalized in the Taiho Code (701). The three checkpoints at the time were Ise Suzuka (Sekimachi, Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture) on the Tokaido, Mino Fuwa (Sekigahara Town, Gifu Prefecture) on the Tosando, and Echizen Arachi (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture. Later, Omi Osaka (Otsu City) replaced Arachi) on the Hokuriku Do, and were considered the most important. In times of emergency, the three checkpoints would be closed to strengthen the defense system. The checkpoints opened at sunrise and closed at sunset, and people were required to carry passports to pass through them.

The three water barriers that required a pass when passing through them by boat or raft were Hyōgo (Kobe City), Nagato (Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture), and Karatsu (Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture). The land barriers were mainly for defense against tribes in the eastern provinces, and as the power of the Imperial Court expanded, they were established in such places as Yokobashiri in Suruga (Gotemba city, Shizuoka prefecture?), Ashigara in Sagami (Minamiashigara city, Kanagawa prefecture), Usui in Kozuke (Annaka city, Gunma prefecture), Shirakawa in Mutsu (Shirakawa city, Fukushima prefecture), Kikuta (Iwaki city, later renamed Nakoso), Koromogawa (Oshu city, Iwate prefecture), Nezu in Dewa (Tsuruoka city, Yamagata prefecture), and Ataka in Kaga, famous for the "Kanjincho" (Shrine of Mercy), (Komatsu city, Ishikawa prefecture). Many of these barriers appear in ancient and medieval waka poetry and literary works.

[Yoshinari Maruyama]

middle ages

The previous Ritsuryo-style checkpoints, which had a military function as a priority, disappeared, and it became common for the shogunate, samurai families, manorial lords, and local clans to set up new checkpoints at key transportation locations and collect customs fees (consisting of repair fees, tolls, and security taxes). At the time, many checkpoints were set up for various reasons, such as the construction and restoration of the Imperial Palace and shrines and temples, but there is a famous story about Hino Tomiko, the wife of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who set up checkpoints at the seven entrances to Kyoto in 1478 (Bunmei 10) after the outbreak of the Onin War, under the pretext of repairing the Imperial Palace, and who lived an extravagant life by using the customs fees for cosmetics. In 1462 (Kansho 3), there were 380 checkpoints along the Yodo River alone, and 60 checkpoints were set up along the Pilgrimage Route between Kuwana (Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture) and Hinaga (Yokkaichi City) in the short 18 km stretch, collecting a toll of one mon each. The excessive construction of new checkpoints hindered the flow of goods, and they became targets of attacks by horse-lending rebellions and other such groups, leading to Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi to implement measures to abolish the checkpoints. In addition to those that prioritized the economic function of collecting tolls, the checkpoints set up by the sengoku lords also increasingly prioritized military functions such as preventing the intrusion of hostile forces at borders.

[Yoshinari Maruyama]

Early modern period

Famous checkpoints of the early modern period include Hakone (Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture) and Arai (Imagire, Kosai City, Shizuoka Prefecture) on the Tōkaidō, known universally as "the most dangerous in the world," Usui (Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture) and Kiso Fukushima (Kiso Town, Nagano Prefecture) on the Nakasendo, Kurihashi (Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture) on the Nikko (Oshū) Road, and Kobotoke (Hachiōji City, Tokyo) on the Kōshū Road. Including these, there were over 50 checkpoints (though there are a dozen or so theories that the number could be as high as 74) set up on naturally dangerous sites along the main roads and branch roads in central Honshū, centered on Edo, and they looked like a huge barrier intended to defend Edo. In addition to these land checkpoints, there were the maritime checkpoints at Misaki (Miura city, Kanagawa prefecture) and Hashirimizu (Yokosuka city) in Sagami, and Shimoda (Shimoda city, Shizuoka prefecture, later Uraga (Yokosuka city)) in Izu, which were responsible for guarding Edo Bay. There were also unique checkpoints that were clearly recognized as checkpoints for the shogunate, such as the Nishidomari and Tomachi guard posts in Nagasaki, which were manned by domains such as the Fukuoka and Saga domains in rotation to guard against foreign ships.

The prototype of the early modern checkpoints can be found in the establishment of checkpoints after Tokugawa Ieyasu entered the Kanto region in 1590 (Tensho 18), but the area of their establishment expanded with the expansion of the Tokugawa sphere of influence following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 (Keicho 5) and the Summer Siege of Osaka in 1615 (Genwa 1). The phrase "Irideppo (guns entering) and women leaving (deonna)" succinctly expresses the function of the checkpoints. "Irideppo" refers to the infiltration of guns by feudal lords and lower into the Kanto region, and "women leaving" refers to the escape of the wives and children of feudal lords living in Edo as hostages back to their home provinces, and the main role of the checkpoints was to monitor these escapes. As times of peace continued, the military and political functions of the early modern checkpoints also changed, and they also came to play a role as a police force, for example by pacifying peasant uprisings. The restrictions on women leaving the country also gradually expanded from the wives and children of feudal lords, who were the main target at first, to include ordinary commoners as well. However, breaking through checkpoints was punishable by severe punishment, up to and including crucifixion, and to prevent this, villages near checkpoints were designated as fortified villages and made surveillance mandatory. Furthermore, guard posts similar to checkpoints were set up in tenryo and various feudal domains, but in 1869 (Meiji 2), the Meiji government issued a decree abolishing all checkpoints nationwide.

[Yoshinari Maruyama]

"Oshima Enjiro, 'Barriers: Their History and Reality' (1964, Jinbutsu Oraisha)"

Hakone Checkpoint
The remains of the Hakone checkpoint on the shores of Lake Ashi. During the Edo period, it was a key point on the Tokaido road, and the shogunate positioned it as the head of the "important checkpoints." The right side of the photo is the Edo side, and the left is the Kyoto side. Excavation surveys began in 2004, and the building was completely restored in 2007. Nationally designated historic site Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture ©Hakone-machi ">

Hakone Checkpoint

Nakorai Barrier Site
On the mountaintop, believed to be the site of the barrier, stands a statue of Minamoto no Yoshiie on horseback and the barrier gate. The area is designated as a prefectural natural park, and the rows of pine trees along the promenade evoke memories of the past. There is also the Nakohira Barrier Literature and History Museum, which displays materials related to the barrier and Minamoto no Yoshiie. Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture ©Seishohmaru ">

Nakorai Barrier Site

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

交通の要衝や国境に設けて、戦時は防衛に使用し、平常時は通行者や貨物の通過を検査する門。古代には「関」または「剗(せん)」などとよんだが、正確には前者は通行者の手形などを検閲して、怪しい者かどうかを判定する所、後者は塹濠(ざんごう)や柵(さく)を設けて、その通過を阻む所をさしていった。

［丸山雍成］

古代

わが国の関は、神功(じんぐう)皇后のとき、忍熊(おしくま)王の乱を防御するために和気(わけ)関（岡山県和気町）を設けたのが始まりといわれ、大化改新（645）によって関塞(せきそこ)の法を定めて鈴契(れいけい)を与え、大宝令(たいほうりょう)（701）に至って関の制度が確定した。当時の関剗(かんせん)としては、東海道の伊勢(いせ)鈴鹿(すずか)（三重県亀山(かめやま)市関町）、東山道(とうさんどう)の美濃(みの)不破(ふわ)（岐阜県関ヶ原町）、北陸道の越前(えちぜん)愛発(あらち)（福井県敦賀(つるが)市。のち愛発にかわって近江(おうみ)逢坂(おうさか)〈大津市〉が加わる）を三関とよんで、もっとも重要視し、非常事態には三関を閉じて防御体制を固めた。その関門は、日の出に開門して日没に閉門、関の通過には過所（過書）の携帯を必要とした。

　水関を船筏(ふねいかだ)で通過する際に過所を必要としたのは、兵庫（神戸市）、長門(ながと)（山口県下関(しものせき)市）、唐津(からつ)（佐賀県唐津市）の三関である。陸上の関は、おもに東国の部族に対する防衛のもので、朝廷勢力の拡大とともに駿河(するが)横走(よこばしり)（静岡県御殿場(ごてんば)市？）、相模(さがみ)足柄(あしがら)（神奈川県南足柄市）、上野(こうずけ)碓氷(うすい)（群馬県安中市）、陸奥(むつ)白河（福島県白河市）・菊多(きくた)（いわき市。のち勿来(なこそ)と改称）・衣川(ころもがわ)（岩手県奥州(おうしゅう)市）、出羽念珠(ねず)（山形県鶴岡(つるおか)市）、あるいは「勧進帳(かんじんちょう)」で名高い加賀の安宅(あたか)（石川県小松市）などにも設けられ、古代・中世の和歌や文学作品に登場するものも少なくない。

［丸山雍成］

中世

前代の律令制的な軍事機能優先の関は消滅して、幕府や武家、荘園(しょうえん)領主、地方豪族などが交通の要地に新関を設けて関銭（修築費、通行税、警固税からなる）を徴収する風潮が一般的となった。当時、内裏や社寺の建立・修復など諸種の名目で多くの関所が設けられたが、将軍足利義政(あしかがよしまさ)の夫人日野富子(ひのとみこ)が応仁(おうにん)の乱発生後の1478年（文明10）内裏修復の名目で京都に入る七口(ななくち)に関所を設け、その関銭を化粧料にあてて奢侈(しゃし)を極めたなど、有名な話である。1462年（寛正3）淀(よど)川べりだけで380か所の関所を数え、また参宮街道では桑名(くわな)（三重県桑名市）―日永(ひなが)（四日市(よっかいち)市）間のわずか18キロメートルの間に実に60の関所を置いて一文ずつの関銭を徴収したという。こうした新関の濫設は、商品流通を阻害するため、馬借一揆(ばしゃくいっき)などの攻撃対象となり、織田信長・豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉により関所撤廃策が打ち出された。なお、戦国大名の関所では、関銭徴収という経済的機能重視のもののほか、国境などで敵対勢力の侵入を防ぐ軍事的機能を優先するものが増加した。

［丸山雍成］

近世

近世の関所は、「天下の険」と人口に膾炙(かいしゃ)される東海道の箱根(はこね)（神奈川県箱根町）や新居(あらい)（今切(いまぎれ)〈静岡県湖西(こさい)市〉）、中山道(なかせんどう)の碓氷（群馬県安中市）・木曽(きそ)福島（長野県木曽町）、日光（奥州）道中の栗橋(くりはし)（埼玉県久喜(くき)市）、甲州道中の小仏(こぼとけ)（東京都八王子市）などが著名であるが、これらを含めて、江戸を中心とした本州中央部の主要街道および分岐道には、天険の地を選んで50余か所（ただし、74か所まで十数説がある）に上る関所群が配置され、それはあたかも江戸防衛を目的とする一大障壁の観があった。これら陸上の関所に対して、江戸湾警備のための相模(さがみ)の三崎（神奈川県三浦市）・走水(はしりみず)（横須賀市）、伊豆の下田(しもだ)（静岡県下田市。のち浦賀〈横須賀市〉）の各海関があるが、また特殊なものとして、異国船警備のために福岡藩・佐賀藩などが交代で詰める長崎の西泊(にしどまり)・戸町(とまち)の両番所のように、幕府の関所として明確に認識されたものもあった。

　近世の関所の原型は、1590年（天正18）の徳川家康の関東入国後における関所配置にあるが、1600年（慶長5）の関ヶ原の戦い、1615年（元和1）の大坂夏の陣による徳川勢力圏の伸張とともに、配置の範囲を拡大していった。関所の機能を端的に表現するものに、「入鉄炮(いりでっぽう)に出女(でおんな)」のことばがある。「入鉄炮」とは、関東内に諸大名以下の鉄炮が入り込むことをさし、「出女」とは、江戸の藩邸に人質(ひとじち)同様に居住する大名の妻子が国元へ逃げ帰ることをいうが、関所はこの監視が主要な任務であった。こうした近世関所の軍事的・政治的機能も、泰平の時代が続くと変質して、たとえば百姓一揆の鎮撫(ちんぶ)など、治安警察的役割をも果たすようになった。そして、「出女」の改めも、当初の主対象である大名の妻子から、しだいに一般庶民のそれへと拡大していった。もっとも、関所破りは磔(はりつけ)以下の重刑に処せられ、これを防止するため関所周辺の村々は要害村に指定され、監視が義務づけられた。なお、天領や諸藩にも、関所に準ずる口留(くちどめ)番所が設けられているが、1869年（明治2）の明治政府の布達で、全国の関所はすべて廃止された。

［丸山雍成］

『大島延次郎著『関所――その歴史と実態』（1964・人物往来社）』

箱根関跡
芦ノ湖の湖畔にある箱根関所の跡。江戸時代には東海道の要所で、幕府は「重キ関所」の筆頭と位置づけた。写真右側が江戸方、左が京方。2004年（平成16）に発掘調査を開始、2007年に建物が完全復原された。国指定史跡　神奈川県足柄下郡箱根町©箱根町">

箱根関跡

勿来関跡

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