Totsuka-juku

Totsuka-juku in the 1830s, as depicted by Hiroshige in the Hoeido edition of The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1831-1834)

Totsuka-juku (戸塚宿, Totsuka-juku) was the fifth of the fifty-three stations (shukuba) of the Tōkaidō. It was the eastern-most post station in Sagami Province. It is now located in Totsuka-ku in the present-day city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

History

Because Totsuka-juku was approximately one day's journey from Nihonbashi, it was a very common resting place for travelers at the start of the journey and the largest post station after Odawara-juku. Because of its size, there were two honjin in the post station as well, one belonging to the Sawabe family (澤辺) and the other belonging to the Uchida family (内田). Another reason for Totsuka-juku being so large was that it was also the intersection of Kamakura Kaidō and the Atsugi Kaidō. A distance marker can now be found in both Shinano-chō and Totsuka-chō.

During the Bakumatsu period, when Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Uraga Harbor with his Black Ships, many frightened citizens fled to Totsuka-juku.

The classic ukiyoe print by Ando Hiroshige (Hoeido edition) from 1831-1834 depicts a traveler (one dismounting from a horse), entering into a tea-house. In the background, a wooden bridge leads across a stream to what appears to be a sizeable settlement.

Senryū

There was a senryū named after Tostuka-juku:

佐野の馬 戸塚の坂で 二度転び

Sano no uma / Totsuka no saka de / nido korobi.

The horse of Sano / at the hill of Totsuka's / goes around it twice.

This senryū is a parody of a story called Hachi no Ki and references to the geography surrounding Totsuka-juku.

Neighboring post towns

Tōkaidō

Hodogaya-juku - Totsuka-juku - Fujisawa-shuku

Further reading

• Carey, Patrick. Rediscovering the Old Tokaido:In the Footsteps of Hiroshige. Global Books UK (2000). ISBN 1901903109
• Chiba, Reiko. Hiroshige's Tokaido in Prints and Poetry. Tuttle. (1982) ISBN 0804802467
• Taganau, Jilly. The Tokaido Road: Travelling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan. RoutledgeCurzon (2004). ISBN 0415310911