Sawayaka Walking in Arai (1) - Check point on Tokaido Highway

From September, JR Tokai or Central Japan Railway Company restarted their walking event Sawayaka Walking. Last Sunday, I joined in the one held in Arai in Kosai, a town located west of Hamamatsu, beyond the bridge over Lake Hamana. It is facing both the lake and the Pacific Ocean. During the Edo Period (1603-1868), Arai had a check point of Tokaido Highway between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. At that time, people who wanted to travel needed to have a pass authorizing the user to pass through certain areas. Tokugawa Shogunate set up many check points throughout Japan to protect Edo. Since Tokaido was the busiest highway in Japan, the check point in Arai was one of the most important ones with maximum security, and its building is the only one in Japan that still exists today.

From JR Hamamatsu Station, it takes only about 15 minutes to get to Arai-cho Station. I arrived shortly before 9 o’clock and received a map outside the station.

The check point is only 500 m from the station. There was a bridge on the way,

which had some old pictures of Arai from the Edo Period in front of the parapet.

This is it! Compared with the big pine tree, the check point building looked small. I wondered how old this tree was.

When you join in Sawayaka Walking, you can often get a discount on tickets of sightseeing spots. On this day, we could buy a combination ticket (check point + inn) for 360 yen by showing our map.
We entered from the east side after taking off our shoes. I found many dragonflies flying outside. It was autumn though the temperatre was still around 30 degrees.

There were pine trees also in the backyard.

They are officers of the check point. Behind them, there were many bows and arrows. According to the explanation board, they had 25 bows, 25 guns, 2 arrow boxes, 2 gunpowder boxes, and 10 long handle weapons basically. They were used for travelers who refused to undergo investigation by the officers or to show off the authority of the check point.

However, the furniture in the room was simple.

The next picture is a room on the west side of the building. In the check point, there was a woman who exclusively checked female travelers. During the Edo Period, the wives of feudal lords had to live in Edo as hostage of Tokugawa Shogunate, and the feudal lords lived in their territories and Edo alternately. To prevent their wives from returning to their territories, the identification of female travelers was checked strictly. There were many women who tried to pass the check point by disguising themselves as men.

This is the front (south) side of the building. You can see the family crest of Tokugawa clan on the cloth hung outside.

These are stones for travelers to put their luggage while they were undergoing investigation.

I think this historical place is very interesting as the building is from the Edo Period. It was rebuilt immediately after a big earthquake in 1854. There is also a small museum on the premises where you can see clothes of travelers, palanquins, and other informative things related to travels during the Edo Period. To my mind this museum is more interesting than the check point building, but photographing is prohibited in the exhibition rooms.

After the Meiji Restoration, the check point building was used as an elementary school and then as a town hall until 1951. This is the gate. It has a certain dignity. I suppose that people in this town must be very proud of their historical heritage.