Kanbara-juku

Kanbara-juku in the 1830s, as depicted by Hiroshige in the Hoeido edition of The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1831-1834)

Kanbara-juku (蒲原宿 Kanbara-juku) was the fifteenth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now part of the Shimizu-ku ward of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of four former post stations located in Shimizu-ku.

History

The original Kanbara-juku was decimated by a flood in the early part of the Edo period, but was rebuilt shortly thereafter.[1]

The classic ukiyoe print by Ando Hiroshige (Hoeido edition) from 1831-1834, depicts a mountain village at nightfall, through which three people are struggling under deep snow. It is a rather strange composition, as Kanbara is located in a very temperate area warmed by the Kuroshio current offshore, and even a light snowfall is extremely rare.

Neighboring post towns

Tōkaidō
Yoshiwara-juku - Kanbara-juku - Yui-shuku

Further reading

References

  1. Kanbara-juku ~ Yui-shuku. Accessed November 5, 2007.