Prehistoric Karuizawa
Since the ancient Jomon period, people have lived in the Karuizawa plateau area over a wide area, and it seems that settlements were formed here and there.
Despite the high and cold climate, the area was rich in birds, animals, fruits, and bulbs, and was probably a suitable place for people to live
from ancient times. As evidence of this, a visit to ancient ruins reveals that earthenware believed to date from the early Jomon period (6-7,000 years ago) was found near the Oshogezawa area upstream from the Shigawa River. The remains of a dwelling in Shigesawa Minamishikido, which is thought to date back to the middle or late Jomon period, have also been found. The site has attracted wide attention from various quarters, including academic societies, not only for the remains of the dwelling, but also for the magnificent masonry cemetery that forms a ring around the site. The artifacts excavated during this period cover a wide area, including Shigesawa, Sugiuri, Hatsuchi, Chigataki, Old Karuizawa, and the Yagasaki River water source area.
In addition, artifacts from the Yayoi period have been found in Yugawa, Sugiuri, Mosawa, and other areas, suggesting that people lived there during the transitional period from hunting to farming and stockbreeding. One of the 16 pastures in Shinano is the Nagakura pasture, which was blessed with a cool climate and abundant grassland, indicating that it was very suitable as a hunting ground and pasture. The bank that appears to be the bank extends from present-day Kyu-Karuizawa to the foot of Rishan, Minamigaoka, Furujuku, and as far as Oiwake.
Ancient Karuizawa and the East Mountain Road
Karuizawa, located at the southern foot of Mt. Asama, was an important transportation hub connecting the Kanto region and Shinano. As a result, major roads and railroads have passed through Karuizawa from ancient times to the present.
Karuizawa has also had an important history as a transportation hub.
It is said that by the Heian period (794-1185), the Higashiyama Pass (a pass located on the border between Narisawa, Karuizawa Town and Iriyama, Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture) may have been used as a route through the interior of Honshu to the north.
This is because many imitation stone ritual vessels were discovered at Iriyama Pass in 1955. These artifacts are said to have been carried in nusa-bukuro (offering bags) by people of relatively high status up to the Heian period (794-1185) when they traveled, and dedicated to the gods on the mountain peaks to pray for the safety of their travelers and the safety of their families and followers. It is thought that this Iriyama Pass may have been the Higashiyama Pass, which was one of the main roads in ancient times.
- ～Column]The Way of the Higashiyama Road
- The Engishiki, compiled around the 10th century during the Heian period (794-1185), describes the stations and ekimas of the Higashiyama Road that passed through the Saku region. The Higashiyama Road entered the Saku region from Matsumoto, where the national capital was located, through Kogata.
The following stations are marked: Urano (10 horses), Watari (10 horses), Shimizu (10 horses), Nagakura (15 horses), and Sakamoto (15 horses) (each of which represents the name of a station and the number of horses), indicating that the route passed through the foot of Mount Asama. The location of Shimizu’s station is assumed to be in Moro (present-day Komoro City), but the most likely location for Nagakura Station is near Nagakura Shrine in Nakakaruizawa. No clear documentation has been found.
As to where in the eastern mountainous area of Karuizawa the Higashiyama Road crossed, the most likely location is Iriyama Pass, but the “Gunma Prefectural History” describes both Iriyama Pass and in front of Kumano Shrine.
- ～Column]Nagakura-no-maki (photo: Komanomeome no Tsutsumi)
- Nagakura-no-maki was one of the official pastures established in the Heian period (794-1185), and was what we now call a pasture for grazing horses presented to the Imperial Court.
It is thought to have been a vast area covering the entire Karuizawa Plateau. From here, horses were delivered to the Imperial Court and played a major role in the transportation industry.
There were 16 official pastures in Shinano Province, and in Saku County, Nagakura Pasture, Shiono Pasture, Hishino Pasture, and Mochizuki Pasture were established. (From “Azuma Kagami”)
Nagakura-maki was located at the southern foot of Mt. Asama, where horses were kept, from the “Komadome no Tsuchi Dike” found in Nakakaruizawa to Chigataki Prince Street, and from the place names “Umakoshi” and “Umatori” in Minamikaruizawa.
In the Saku region, the name “Mimaki” and the legend of “Mochizuki no Koma” remain, and as many as 30 pairs of horses were sent from Mochizuki Maki each year. Many waka poems, including the poem
“Aburasaka no Seki no Shizumi ni Shizumi ni Kagewaru Ima Yagaru Mochizuki no Koma (Noriyuki Ki)”
, are preserved in the Chigeshu collection.
Although there are few historical records of Nagakura’s pasturage, many horses were kept there during the Nara and Heian periods.
- ～Column]The Bronze Bell of Kumano Shrine
- Kumano Shrine has in its collection a bronze bell about 1 meter high and 60 cm in diameter. The inscription on the bell is shown in the photo below. The inscription states that the bell was dedicated to Kumano Shrine on the Usui Pass by 12 people from Matsuida on the 8th day of the 5th month of May in the 5th year of Sho’o (1292). This is probably because there was a road to carry the heavy bell, which was thought to be impossible to carry on horseback, up from Matsuida at the foot of the mountain to Kumano Shrine (or Jinguji?). It is thought that the heavy bell was placed on a sturdy stand, and a horse and man rolled it on a round bar called a goro to pull it up.
Karuizawa and Nakayama Road in the Middle Ages
In 1602, after the Battle of Sekigahara, the Edo shogunate began to improve the Nakasendo, which later became one of the five highways along with the Tokaido, Nikko, Oshu, and Koshu roads.
The Nakasendo is a highway that runs from Edo to Sakamoto-juku in Jyoshu, climbs the steep slope of Mt.
From Kumano Shrine, the road descends Kamon-zaka to the west, and Karuizawa-juku was built at the foot of the hill. From Karuizawa-juku, the Nakayama Road headed southwest, then west from the bottom of Rishiyama, crossed the Yukawa Bridge, and entered Kutsumigake-juku. From Kutsugake-juku, the road crossed the east side of Mt. The Nakayama Expressway continued west from Kutsugake, passing through Furujuku and Kariyado to enter Oiwakejuku, with Mount Asama to the north. From Oiwajuku, the Nakayama Road heads southwest toward Kyoto, while the Hokkoku Road (Zenkoji Road) heads west down Oiwajara. This junction is called “Wakasare,” where the Zenkoji temple’s everlasting lamps and stone Buddha are erected.
The inns were built in a straight line, with the main lodge in the center to accommodate feudal lords and court nobles, and wholesale dealers to take over their cargo. The inn was also used by people visiting temples and shrines for business and other purposes.
The three inns of Karuizawa, Kutsugake, and Oiwake are located at the waist of Asamadake, and the terrain is very high. The only crops grown here are buckwheat, buckwheat and barley. There are no fruit trees. There are no trees in the houses either. This is a description of Karuizawa at that time.
- ～Karuizawa-juku, the eighteenth inn counting from Edo (Tokyo) on the Nakasendo, one of the sixty-nine routes of the Nakasendo.
- Karuizawa-juku was the eighteenth inn (counting from Edo) on the Nakasendo, one of the sixty-nine routes on the Nakasendo, and prospered as an inn town with many inns and teahouses as well as horse stations, which were the means of transportation in those days. It is located on the north side of the present Karuizawa Station.
The area was located westward down the Usui Pass and was a strategic point for both transportation and military purposes. However, the area was covered with volcanic ash and pumice stone, and few people lived there due to its high elevation. Therefore, people from Iriyama village on the east side of the pass (Kamiju) were relocated to the area to form an inn.
- ～Column: Kutsugakejuku
- Kutsukakejuku is another inn that corresponds to today’s Nakakaruizawa.
The “Kisoji Meisho Zue” (Famous Places along the Kiso Road) says, “The streets are located on both sides of the road, and there are many farmhouses scattered about. There are many farmhouses scattered about. There is a road to Asamadake at the entrance of the inn.” It seems that the inn was smaller than Karuizawa and Oiwake inns.
Compared to Karuizawa-juku, there were more farmhouses.
From Kutsumigake-juku, the Osasa-kaido Kusatsu Road leading to Osasa in Jyoshu and Nire in Shinshu, and the Iriyama Road leading to Iriyama in Jyoshu in the south branched off to the north. The Oosasa-Nire Kaido was a road for transporting goods from the northern Shinano area, and “tsukemadori,” or “passing through” the road without passing through a Nakasendo post, was used for quick transportation of goods (in Saku, it was called “noma-ninga” or “farm-to-work”).
- ～Oiwakejuku – [Column] Oiwakejuku
- Oiwake-juku is located at the southern foot of Mt. Asama at an elevation of approximately 1,000 meters, the highest of all the Nakasendo inns, and is located in present-day Oiwake, Karuizawa.
Oiwakejuku was the busiest of the three Asama inns, with innkeepers accounting for 30% of the total number of inns. The reason why there were more women than men in Oiwajuku is due to the fact that there were many women who served rice (more than 200 during the Genroku era). （The names of the inns, “Utai-zaka,” “Uwai-zaka,” and “Laughing-zaka,” may have been derived from this fact.
The Oiwake-juku district had a “baggage exchange station” (kanme-aratame-jo), which was established in 1876. In 1876, a magistrate in charge of the transportation of goods was appointed to check the weight of goods passing through Oiwajuku by a wholesale store with a deputy.
Oiwake-juku was the busiest of the three Asama inns, as people and luggage gathered there from the Nakasendo and Kitakuni Kaido routes.
Karuizawa in the Edo Period
As mentioned earlier, Karuizawa was opened as an inn on the Nakasendo Highway in the Edo period.
The three Asama-Nekoshi inns (Karuizawa, Kutsugake, and Oiwake) were formed on the Karuizawa Plateau, which is located on the Usui Pass, the most difficult pass in Japan along with Hakone on the Tokaido Highway, and also a branch of the Hokkoku Highway.
The prosperity of these inns is still talked about today among the highway towns.
However, the farming areas surrounding the inn towns were cold villages where the main crops were millet, Japanese millet, and other cereals due to the high temperatures.
In addition, the village suffered from the usual cold spells and disasters caused by the eruption of Asama, an active volcano, and the people were forced to go to the inn to help out. In other words, Karuizawa’s major source of income during this period was the roadside silver lost by travelers. The number of travelers coming and going along the highway decreased year by year, and the once prosperous inns became desolate and the residents dispersed.
Furthermore, with the opening of the Usui New Road (present-day National Route 18) in 1884, the old inn towns along the Nakasendo Road suffered a decisive blow, and the long history of the three Asama inns came to a complete end.
However, Karuizawa’s history does not end here.
In the Meiji era (1868-1912), missionaries visited the area and recognized it as a summer resort, and Karuizawa would eventually be transformed into a quiet and beautiful town where rich highland vegetables would grow.
