Tokaido Walk (3) Kawasaki～Yokohama (off Tokyo)：Nov. 6, 2010

I took the 3rd part of my Tokaido Walk today. It was from Kawasaki to Kanagawa shukuba (Edo period’s station), which is near today’s JR (Japan Railways) Yokohama station.

The old Tokaido runs through the central part of Kawasaki city. The old road has converted into a shopping street in the central part of Kawasaki city. Monuments and sign boards tell the history of the Kawasaki shukuba station. Old Kawasaki shukuba station had more than 70 inns in the Edo period.

There is a monument of Haiku poet Matsuo Basho at the west end of the old station. Historical temples remain here and there.
I also found a monument to console the soil of dead people near Basho’s monument. Countless people who died during their travels were buried here (just outside the shukuba station) in the Edo era. Many bones were found after the Meiji period. The bones also tell us the reality of the travel in the Edo period.

I crossed Tsurumi River and entered into Tokohama City. Small residence houses stand along old Tokaido. What I found included:

- Milestones: The Tokugawa government built milestones in every 4 kilometers along Tokaido.

- A ruin of old gate: the gate checked the people who tried to enter Kanagawa shukuba station. Many foreign people lived in Kanagawa shukuba station in the end of Edo period. Some extreme Japanese wanted to expel foreigners and tried to attack them. The Tokugawa government tried to prevent such actions and built the gate.

- Trueumi Station (Keihin Kyuko): the station is built along old Tokaido. The old road is now uses as a shopping street in front of the station.

- A monument of Namamugi Incident: A British was killed by Japanese soldiers of Satsuma (Kagoshima) domain in 1862 (late Edo period) when the British tried to cross the road just before the Satsuma load tried to pass the point (The British was expected to wait and bow). The incident led Satsuma and the Britain to have a war, which became one of the important moves to the Meiji Revolution.

- A huge factory of Kirin Brewery: it is just behind the Namamugi Incident Monument.
The Old Tokaido road meets the National Rout 15 again at Namamugi area.

I walked westward along the National Rout 15, passed Shin-Koyasu and Higashi Kanagawa and arrived at Old Kanagawa shukuba station. Small Takinogawa River flows in the shukuba station.
Kanagawa had a good port and the Tokugawa government opened the area (along with several other areas) for foreigners in the late Edo period.
A part of old Tokaido has become a small shopping street here. Some temples remain here. They were used as boarding housed for foreigners in the late Edo era.
I passed the shukuba station and arrived at the nearest point to current JR Yokohama station.