Yoshiwara-juku

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Yoshiwara-juku (吉原宿, Yoshiwara-juku^?) was the fourteenth of the fifty-three stations (shukuba) of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the city of Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The Yoshiwara-juku Festival is held each year in October and November in Fuji, showing visitors the area's history.^[1]

[edit] History

Yoshiwara-juku was first located near the present-day Yoshiwara Station, run by JR East, but after a very destructive tsunami in 1639, the post station was located to the present-day Yodahara section of the city of Fuji. In 1680, the area was again devastated by a large tsunami, so it was again relocated and moved to its current place. It is for this reason that travelers from Hara-juku walked away from the sea, even though the name "Tōkaidō" means "East Sea Route." Also, up until this point on the journey, Mount Fuji could always be seen to the right of the travelers coming from Edo. However, as they traveled inland, they could see Mount Fuji to their left, and the view came to be called "Fuji to the Left" (左富士 Hidari Fuji). During the Edo period, there was a long colonnade of pine trees lining the route along this point, but only one tree remains today.

[edit] Neighboring post towns

Tōkaidō

Hara-juku - Yoshiwara-juku - Kanbara-juku

[edit] References