Kōshū Kaidō
The area of present-day Shimosuwa was part of ancient Shinano Province, and was administered as part of the territories of Suwa Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. During the Edo period, Shimosuwa-shuku developed as the 29th station on the 59-station Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto and was also a post station on the Kōshū Kaidō.