Oshu Highway - Oshu Kaido

Japanese: 奥州街道 - おうしゅうかいどう

<br /> The remains of a highway in Ichinohe Town , Ninohe County, Iwate Prefecture, and Iwate Town, Iwate County. Tokugawa Ieyasu established a post station relay system that connected various parts of the country using highways centered on Edo, and extended the system to the Tokaido in 1601 (Keicho 6), and to the Nakasendo and Oshu Kaido the following year. From 1604 (Keicho 9), he had mileposts constructed along the highways. Of these, the Oshu Kaido played the role of a main line connecting Edo and the Tohoku region, for things like alternate attendance and the transport of goods. In the late Edo period, the road was also used by shogunate officials and officials from various domains heading north to investigate and defend Ezochi. The Oshu Kaido road overlapped with the Nikko Kaido road from Senju (Tokyo) to Shimotsuke Utsunomiya (Tochigi Prefecture), and the 10 post towns from Shimotsuke Shirasawa ( Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture) to Mutsu Shirakawa (Fukushima Prefecture) were called the Oshu road under the control of the road magistrate, but the area north of Shirakawa was generally considered an extension of the Oshu Kaido road and was developed and maintained by the feudal domains along the road. The Oshu Kaido road leaves Morioka ( Iwate Prefecture) and heads north, passing through the post towns of Shibutami and Numakunai , and enters the area of present-day Ichinohe town, passing through the villages of Mahamatsu, Surinuka , Nakayama , Higyo , Kotsunagi , Kozuya , and Kozenji, before arriving at Ichinohe post town. Ichinohe, the third post station from Morioka, was the headquarters of the Hachinohe and Matsumae clans, who passed through on alternate attendance days, and the Nanbu clan, which patrolled the territory. The distance from the southern post station, Numamiyauchi, was long, about 32 km, and the road was rough and undulating, so travelers who could not reach Ichinohe would sometimes stay overnight at Nakayama. Kozunagi was the junction with the inspection road heading west to Joboji (present-day Ninohe City), and the first guard post north of Morioka was located there. Going north from Ichinohe, the route went through Namiuchi Pass, known as the land of the utamakura poem "Sueno Matsuyama," and headed to Fukuoka (present-day Ninohe City). Many parts of the Oshu Kaido in Ichinohe town still retain the atmosphere of the early modern period even after the Meiji era, and the five sections from the south, namely Sasunuka, Kozunai/Yonozaka, Takayashiki/Kawasoko, Sekiya/Mega/Koshodo, and Namiuchi Pass, still convey the atmosphere of the old road. In addition, mileposts built along the road still exist at five of the seven points in the town: Mido /Mabamatsu, Nakayama, Kozunai, Kawasoko, and Namiuchi Pass. Five sections of the Oshu Kaido (8.8 km long) and the four mileposts, Mido/Mabamatsu, Nakayama, Kawasoko, and Namiuchi Pass, were designated as national historic sites in 2010. IGR Iwate Galaxy Railway It is about a 7-minute walk from Ichinohe Station on the Iwate Galaxy Railway Line.

Source: Kodansha National Historic Site Guide Information

Japanese:

岩手県二戸(にのへ)郡一戸(いちのへ)町、岩手郡岩手町にある街道跡。徳川家康は、江戸を中心に街道を利用して全国各地をつなぐ宿駅伝馬制を設け、1601年（慶長6）に東海道に、翌年には中山道と奥州街道に同制度を敷き、1604年（慶長9）からは街道沿いに一里塚を造営させた。このうち奥州街道は、参勤交代や物資の輸送など、江戸と東北とを結ぶ幹線の役割を果たした。江戸時代後期には、蝦夷地(えぞち)の調査や防備のため北に向かう幕臣や各藩の役人の往来もあった。奥州街道は千住(せんじゅ)（東京都）から下野(しもつけ)宇都宮（栃木県）までは日光街道と重なり、下野白沢(しらさわ)（栃木県宇都宮市）から陸奥白河（福島県）までの10宿が道中奉行支配のもと奥州道中と呼ばれたが、白河以北についても一般には奥州街道の延長とみなされて、沿道各藩によって整備し、維持された。盛岡（岩手県）を出て北に向かい、渋民(しぶたみ)・沼宮内(ぬまくない)両宿を経て現在の一戸町域に入った奥州街道は、馬羽松(まはまつ)、擦糠(すりぬか)、中山、火行(ひぎょう)、小繋(こつなぎ)、小鳥谷(こずや)、高善寺の集落を経て一戸宿に至る。盛岡から3番目の宿駅にあたる一戸には、参勤交代のため通行する八戸(はちのへ)藩、松前藩と領内を巡視する南部藩の本陣が置かれていた。南の宿駅である沼宮内からの距離は約32kmと長く、また起伏に富む険しい道のため、一戸までたどり着けない旅人が中山に泊まることもあったという。小繋は西の浄法寺(じょうぼうじ)（現二戸市）へ向かう巡検道との分岐点で、盛岡以北最初の番所が置かれていた。一戸を過ぎて北上すると、歌枕「末の松山」の地と称される浪打(なみうち)峠を経て福岡（現二戸市）へと向かう道筋だった。一戸町域の奥州街道は、明治以後も変わらず近世の趣を残す部分が多く、とくに南から擦糠、小繋・与の坂、高屋敷・川底、関屋・女鹿・小姓堂、浪打峠の5区間はかつての街道の雰囲気を今に伝える。また街道につくられた一里塚は、町域7地点のうち御堂(みどう)・馬羽松、中山、小繋、川底、浪打峠の5地点で現存する。奥州街道の一部5区間（延長8.8km）と、御堂・馬羽松、中山、川底、浪打峠の4つの一里塚が、2010年（平成22）に国の史跡に指定された。IGRいわて銀河鉄道いわて銀河鉄道線一戸駅から徒歩約7分。

出典　講談社国指定史跡ガイドについて　情報

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