Koshu-dochu Road and Isawa-shuku★1Gokaido, the five major roads establishedby Tokugawa Shogunate
Oshu-dochu
ShirakawaNikko-Hachiishi
Shimo-suwa

Oshu-dochu

Preface"Koshu Isawa no Akatsuki" (Dawn at Isawa in Kai
Province) is not only one of the masterpieces by
Katsushika Hokusai, the Ukiyo-e artist of the late
Edo period, but also a depiction of an aspect of the olddays of Isawa-shuku full of vibrancy.
This woodblock print depicts the busy early morning
scene of travelers with their cargo departing for thelong journey on the Koshu-dochu Road. The roofs ofthe houses are gradually getting lighter and in thebackground Mt. Fuji is seen in the pale light of dawn.
Isawa River flows on its way with the Ukai Bridge
silhouetted in the haze on the route leading to theKamakura Kaido Road.

Tokaido Road

Koshu-dochu Road, which crossed Isawacho-Ichibe, Fuefuki
City, connected Nihonbashi and Shimosuwa-shuku and led to
Nakasendo Road. With a total length of 219 kilometers, it was
one of the five major roads (Gokaido) established byTokugawa Shogunate. This Road was also calledKoshu-Kaido.
Isawa-shuku was located at the current Isawacho-Ichibe,Fuefuki City. There were 45 post towns on the Koshu-dochu
Road. Isawa-shuku was the 38th post town counting fromNihonbashi.

Isawa-shuku had a boat wharf accessible to the Fuji River★3★4
waterway via the Fuefuki River and became a key place forland and water traffic in the eastern Kofu Basin area.

At the far left, it shows ⑭Fuefuki River; ferryboats wereoperated between the river wharf of Isawa-kashi andKawata village (present-day Kofu City) on the west bank.
In addition, cargo boats were also operated from the river
wharf at Isawa-kashi, sailing down the Fuefuki River tothe wharf on the Fuji River to transport annual rice tax
and other goods.

Tracing the illustration from the right it shows ①Entrance★5of Isawa-shuku, ②Border of Azanakamachi, ③Kosatsuba,★6④Goshuinchi Onmyoji Temple to the north, ⑤Toiyaba, and⑥Kamakura Kaido Road extending south-east from theToiyaba.

The Koshu-dochu Road was used not only for usualtransportation but also used by pilgrims coming from Edoto go to the temple at Minobusan Mountain.

★2・・・ "Koshu-dochu Bunken Nobe-ezu" is a map that was completed by thedochu-bugyo(traﬃc control bureau) under the order of theTokugawa Shogunate
to control the roads.

★6・・・ Toiyaba refers to a place where horses and palanquins were arranged for travelers;
todayʼs railway station or bus-stop.

★3・・・Fujigawa Suiun was a water route that connected Kofu Basin and Suruga Bay.
★4・・・ The Fuefuki River was moved about 1 kilometer east of the original ﬂow due to alarge ﬂood which occurred in Meiji 40 (1907). Nowadays, the Byodo River ﬂows
where the original stream was.

⑪Isawa Jinya was the building of the Isawa Daikan-sho(magistrate's oﬃce) established in 1661. Local governors
primarily collected land taxes and cracked down on crime invillages under their control. Isawa Minami Elementary School
was built on the ruin of the Isawa Daikan-sho. A monumentalstone of the ruin of Isawa Jinya stands on the left side of theschool gate. The main gate of the oﬃce was relocated to theHatta-ke Goshuin Yashiki Residence in 1874.

Hatago and Isawa-honjin
When Isawa-shuku was nominated as an authorizedaccommodation place, no inns were in business fortravelers, and so regular travelers had to stay at privatehouses in the area. Around 1843, 18 inns of various scale
were in business. This was the moment when the town
landscape became that of an orderly post town.
Kuge (court noble), Daimyo (feudal lord) and Shogunate
officials did not use general inns but used Honjin instead.
The building of Honjin burnt down in Meiji 13 (1880) andonly the warehouse remains now.

Isawa-shuku flooded★5・・・ Kosatsuba refers to a place where public notices were posted including,precautionary statements from the Shogunate,accommodation charges, and so on.

★7・・・ Honjin and Waki-honjin refer to hostels authorized and used by Kuge (courtnoble), Daimyo (feudal lord), and Shogunate oﬃcials.

Monumental stone of
the ruin of Isawa Jinya★8・・・ Isawa Jin-ya was a building used as Isawa Daikan-sho(magistrate's oﬃce).

Main gate of Isawa Daikan-sho relocated toHatta-ke Goshuin Yashiki Residence

In the past Isawa-shuku had suffered from flood disasterdue to its geographical location on the low land between theRiver.
Fuefuki River and the IsawaIsa★9・・・ Isawa River was a small river that ﬂowed on the route of the current Fuefuki
River. The river was also called Ukai River.

★1・・・Shuku (or Juku) refers to a station or a post town on a major road.

⑧To Matsumoto
Isawa-Onsen StationTo Shinjuku

JRAshi-yu(Foot bath)⑩

Ukaizan Onmyoji Temple
Ruin of Isawa-Honjin
Isawa-Hachimangu Shrine ⑧④⑩⑭

Byodo River

Ashi-yu(Foot bath)⑪●⑫Kannonji Temple
Isawa Minami Elementary School⑨⑤⑦③A monumental ststonetone stands at tthe ruin of Isawa Honjin and its warehouse⑪⑥● Kobayashi-Koen Park●●①②⑭411 Route 411 Ichibe-dori Street (Old Koshu-dochu)

Ruin of Isawa Jinya

Material provided by: Yamanashi Prefectural Museum

The illustration "Koshu-dochu Bunken Nobe-ezu",
completed in 1806, depicts the landscape of Isawa-shuku inthose days. Isawa-shuku, measuring 545 meters long andcomprising of 85 houses, was a post town on theKoshu-dochu Road. It acted as a junction to the
Kamakura-Kaido Road.

Isawa Jinya (Isawa Daikan-sho)④Kounbashi
BridgePreservation Association★2

Directly connected to the capital Edo, Isawa-shuku on theKoshu-dochu Road enjoyed prosperity as a post town.

Isawa River is currently called the Fuefuki River orthe Ukai River where cormorant fishing wasconducted.

Cooperation by: Fuefuki River Isawa Cormorant Fishing

Edo-Nihonbashi

Koshu-dochu

Kyoto,
Sanjo-Ohashi
BridgeKoshu Isawa no Akatsuki” from Fugaku Sanju Rokkei(Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji)

Nikko-dochu

IsawaIsawa-shuku appears on the"Koshu-dochu Bunken Nobe-ezu"

Going further west on the Koshu-dochu Road, it shows ⑦★7Azanishimachi ⑧Honjin and Waki-honjin to the north, ⑨Kosatsuba, and ⑩Torii Gate of Isawa-Hachimangu Shrine.
Going south from the front of Honjin, it shows ⑪Isawa★8★9Jinya,⑫Goshuinchi Kannonji Temple, and ⑬Isawa Riverto the southUkaibashi
Bridge⑫

The Statue ofUkai Kansaku-O⑬ Fuefuki River⑬Fuefuki City Officeand Ukaizan Onmyoji Temple
Current map of the vicinity of Ichibe-dori Street (Outline)The landscape of Isawa-shuku illustrated on the "Koshu-dochu Bunken Nobe-ezu" (Owned by Yamanashi Prefectural Museum)

wa-shuku was waterlogged by a large flood in Meiji 40 (1Isawa-shuku(1907)
Photo from “Natural Disaster Historic Record of Fuefuki City”