Ushu Highway

Japanese: 羽州街道 - うしゅうかいどう

<br /> The remains of a highway in Kaminoyama, Yamagata Prefecture. The designated name is "Ushu Kaido Narageshuku Kanayamagoe ." The Ushu Kaido is one of the side roads (highways next to the five highways) that were developed during the Edo period. It branches off from the Oshu Kaido (Sendai Road) at Koorijuku ( Koori Town, Date County, Fukushima Prefecture), crosses Kanayama Pass, crosses Dewa Province (Ushu, present-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture), and rejoins the Oshu Kaido (Matsumae Road) at Aburakawajuku (Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture). The Ushu Kaido corresponds to the current national highways 113, 13, and 7. Narashita-juku is located in Narashita, within the city. As a post town for 13 feudal domains from Aomori, Akita, and Yamagata on their alternate attendance routes, it was bustling with honjin, wakihonjin, wholesalers, inns, tea shops, and other facilities, and flourished as a key transportation point on the Ushu Kaido road. Today, historical buildings that convey the atmosphere of a post town, such as the restored wakihonjin "Shonaiya," are preserved and scattered around the area. In 1997, it was designated a national historic site, along with the "Kanayama Pass" road that crosses the Kanayama Pass in Kanayama, within the city, as "Ushu Kaido Narashita-juku Kanayama Pass." To get to Narashita-juku, take the Yamako bus from Kaminoyama Onsen Station on the JR Yamagata Shinkansen line and get off at "Narashita Shinmachi," then it is a short walk away.

Source: Kodansha National Historic Site Guide Information

Japanese:

山形県上山市にある街道遺跡。指定名称は「羽州街道楢下宿(ならげしゅく) 金山越(かなやまごえ)」。羽州街道は、江戸時代に整備された脇往還（五街道に次ぐ街道）の一つ。奥州街道（仙台道）から桑折(こおり)宿（福島県伊達郡桑折町）で分岐し、金山峠を越えて、出羽国（羽州、現在の山形県と秋田県）を縦断し油川宿（青森県青森市）で再び奥州街道（松前道）と合流する。羽州街道は、現在の国道113号・国道13号・国道7号などに相当する。楢下宿は市内の楢下にあり、青森、秋田、山形の諸大名13藩の参勤交代の宿場として、本陣、脇本陣、問屋、旅籠屋、茶店などを備えて賑わい、羽州街道の交通の要衝として栄えた。現在は、脇本陣「庄内屋」を復元するなど、宿場町の面影を伝える歴史的な建物が保存され、点在している。1997年（平成9）に、「羽州街道楢下宿・金山越」として、市内金山の金山峠を越える道「金山越」とともに国の史跡に指定された。楢下宿へは、JR山形新幹線かみのやま温泉駅から山交バス「楢下新町」下車、徒歩すぐ。

出典　講談社国指定史跡ガイドについて　情報

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