Thursday, September 20th, 2001 (click to see all posts from this day)
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After laundry (!) I returned to Kusanagi station to pick up where I had left off.
Fuchu, Station #19 on the Old Tokaido
The first half of today's walk was city streets, weaving in and out of train tracks, etc. One rather surprising thing about the Tokaido is that--whether city street or hiking trail--it still exists, and often seems to be the preferred route. But today, for the first time (other than at ferry crossings) I reached a part that's gone.
In Shizuoka city, the road crosses and re-crosses a wide railroad right-of-way, and just stops--twice. I had to detour over or under the tracks on other roads. Considering that I was somewhere near 170 kilometers from Tokyo, it's amazing that it hasn't happened before.
Sunpu Castle and Ieyasu Tokugawa
I had a charming encounter with kids as I approached the grounds. I had stopped to check my map against a street map posted on the border of the grounds. (Far from lost, I was just orienting.) Lots of people were passing on the sidewalk, so I didn't take much noticed. Suddenly, I became aware that someone was waiting for me to answer them. (Know that feeling? A sort of psychic nudge?) Looking down to my right, I realized that three girls of about ten years old were patiently waiting, one of them clearly the leader. Think fast: you're standing in front of a map--what question was asked? So even though I knew the answer--I just wanted to validate her kindness in offering-- I responded: "Where is Sunpu Castle?" To my relief, I had guessed correctly: she had asked if she could help me find something. She then proceeded to give lengthy, fast, and fluent Japanese directions to a place that was no more than 20 meters away!
Although actually born at another station farther down the Tokaido--Okazaki near Nagoya (in 1543)--he was sent as a military hostage to Shizuoka at the age of seven. (It was not unusual for "alliances" to be sealed by the retention of family members; remember that later this same man would later require all the daimyo--barons--under him to leave their wives in Edo as virtual hostages.)
In Shizuoka he lived with the Imagawa family where, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, he was "trained in the military and governmental arts and developed a great love for falconry." Hence the bird in his hand (which is worth...?).
After his father's murder and the death in battle of his foster father (it was a bloody time), he returned to his family seat at Okazaki. From there he began the long series of campaigns that led to his being the (ultimately) undisputed leader of Japan's military government.
He successively moved his seats of government to Hamamatsu, then to Sunpu (here--Shizuoka), and finally--after he and Hideyoshi Toyotomi crushed the Hojo at Odawara--to Edo, described by Britannica as "nearly a month's march from Hideyoshi's headquarters near Kyoto."
Two years after becoming shogun, Ieyasu "retired" to Sunpu again, leaving his son Hidetada as shogun. However, he was as active in retirement as before, especially in the area of foreign relations (the Europeans had arrived).
He died at Sunpu in 1616.
An interesting side note: every city mentioned above--Okazaki, Nagoya, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Odawara, Edo, Kyoto--was a station on the Tokaido.
Ieyasu is all over the net. Here's a great--and heavily-linked--starting point.
Abekawa River Crossing
A funny thing: On the Tokaido train line, "Abekawa" station is followed by "Mochimune." So when the trains are announced, they say "Abekawa, Mochimune,..." It sounds like an advertisement!
Hiroshige's Tokaido: Fuchu, Station #19 on the Old Tokaido
 Hiroshige's print for Shizuoka is of people crossing the Abekawa in various ways. |
Mariko, Station #20 on the Old Tokaido
Hiroshige's Tokaido: Mariko, Station #20 on the Old Tokaido
 This is the teahouse in question. The one I saw looks bigger, grander--but all insist that it's the same one. I visited here with the Maruyamas three years ago, and can still remember the sensation of seeing something so closely linked with the Old Tokaido--part of what led me to do this. |
For the first time this trip, I encountered a manned temple with no one who could sign my book. (All other unsigned days were at closed, unstaffed temples--or at shrines.)
Toiling onward, I stopped before entering a tunnel, and took a bus back to Shizuoka station. Tomorrow morning, I will strike off up the mountain over the tunnel, to Utsunoya Pass, said to be the third toughest part of the route (after Hakone and Satta).
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Posted September 28, 2019
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