Tsuetsuki Pass - Tsuetsuki Pass

A pass at the northern end of the Akaishi Mountains in central Nagano Prefecture. It is 1,247 meters above sea level. From the Suwa Basin side, it is a 500-meter climb, and the name was born because people climbed the steep slope with walking sticks. Until the end of the Taisho period, people would collect walking sticks that were no longer needed after reaching the pass and burn them as a memorial. The Tsuetsuki Highway (National Route 152) runs along the valley of the Fujisawa River, which starts from the southern slope of the pass, to Takato in Ina City. Until the early modern period, it was an important transportation route connecting Suwa and Kofu with the Kiso Valley and the Tokai region through the Ina Valley, and was used as a pilgrimage route to Akiha Shrine (Shizuoka Prefecture) and for the Takeda clan's invasion of the Tokai region. From the pass, there are good views of the Northern Alps, Suwa Basin, Kirigamine, and the Yatsugatake mountain range.

[Hiroyoshi Kobayashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

長野県中央部、赤石山脈の北端にある峠。標高1247メートル。諏訪盆地(すわぼんち)側からは約500メートルの登りになり、急斜面を杖を突いて登るのでこの名が生まれたという。大正末期ごろまでは峠に達して不要になった杖を集め、燃やして供養をしたという。峠の南斜面に発する藤沢川の渓谷に沿って杖突街道（国道152号）が伊那(いな)市高遠へと通じている。近世までは諏訪、甲府方面と伊那谷を経て木曽谷(きそだに)や東海地方を結ぶ重要な交通路であり、秋葉神社（静岡県）への参詣(さんけい)路や、武田氏の東海地方への侵攻に利用された。峠からは北アルプス、諏訪盆地、霧ヶ峰、八ヶ岳(やつがたけ)連峰などの眺めがよい。

［小林寛義］

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