Fukuroi-juku

Fukuroi-juku in the 1830s, as depicted by Hiroshige in The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō

Fukuroi-juku (袋井ふくろい宿やど, Fukuroi-juku) was the twenty-seventh of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō, making it the center of the route. It is located in what is now the center of the city of Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

History

Fukuroi-juku was developed later than most of the other post stations, as it was not established until 1616. It is 9.7 km from Kakegawa-juku, the preceding post town. At its peak, Fukuroi-juku was home to 195 buildings, including three honjin and 50 hatago. Its total population was approximately 843 people.

Because it was in the vicinity of the former Tōtōmi Province's three major temples, it also flourished as the gateway to the three temples. The three temples were: Hattasan Sonei-ji (法ほう多た山やま尊みこと永なが寺てら), Kasuisai (可か睡ねむ斎とき) and Yusan-ji (油あぶら山寺やまでら).

The classic ukiyo-e print by Andō Hiroshige (Hōeidō edition) from 1831–1834 depicts a couple of travelers sheltering at a wayside lean-to, in front of which a woman stirs a large kettle hung from the branch of a large tree. The surrounding area appears to be featureless rice fields, with little indication of a post town.

Neighboring post towns

Tōkaidō

Kakegawa-juku - Fukuroi-juku - Mitsuke-juku

Further reading

• Carey, Patrick. Rediscovering the Old Tokaido:In the Footsteps of Hiroshige. Global Books UK (2000). ISBN 1-901903-10-9
• Chiba, Reiko. Hiroshige's Tokaido in Prints and Poetry. Tuttle. (1982) ISBN 0-8048-0246-7
• Taganau, Jilly. The Tokaido Road: Travelling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan. RoutledgeCurzon (2004). ISBN 0-415-31091-1

References

Media related to Fukuroi-juku at Wikimedia Commons