This article was created using a translator. There may be expressions that are difficult to understand. If you have any questions, please check by yourself.
Hello~. This time, I would like to show you how I strolled from Nihonbashi to Shinagawa-juku.
The distance from Nihonbashi to the Shinagawa area is about 8 km.
It seems like a lot of walking, but it’s not so much when you put it into numbers.
Shinagawa-juku
Shinagawa-juku is the first post town on the Tokaido Highway connecting Edo and Kyoto. The above painting by Hiroshige seems to depict the arrival of a procession of feudal lords at Shinagawa-juku at sunrise. The mountain on the right looks like “Yatsuyama” (Mt. Yatsu). It is said that the area from near the present “Kita-Shinagawa” station to near “Aomono-Yokocho” station was called “Shinagawa-juku”.
Edo Castle Liberation Saigo Takamori and Katsu Kaishu Meeting place
This is not Shinagawa-juku, but the “Edo Castle Liberation: Saigo Takamori and Katsu Kaishu Meeting Site” is located near Tamachi Station between Nihonbashi and Shinagawa-juku.
It is said to be the site where the famous “bloodless opening of Edo” meeting took place between Saigo Takamori and Katsu Kaishu on March 13 and 14, where the bloodless opening of Edo was decided. It is now surrounded by high-rise buildings, but it looks like there used to be a warehouse of the Satsuma clan.
Sengaku-temple (Buddhist)
Walking further toward Shinagawa from the Tamachi Station area, you will find Sengakuji Temple. Sengakuji Temple is famous for its bronze statue of Yoshio Oishi Kuranosuke and the graves of the 47 Ako warriors.
Ruins of Takanawa Ookido
Located not far from Sengakuji Temple is Takanawa Okido. In the Edo period, each town had a wooden gate to guard it, and Takanawa was called “Okido” because it was the entrance to Edo (Tokyo). Ino Tadataka, who drew the map of Japan, used Takanawa Okido as the starting point for his accurate map. Nowadays, it is not so well maintained and it is hard to tell what it is at first glance 😭
ruins of a dozo sagami
Just after entering the shopping street in Kitashinagawa is the remains of the storehouse Sagamiya. It looks like this is where a brothel called “Sagamiya” used to be. At the end of the Edo period, Takasugi Shinsaku and others of the Choshu clan burned down the British legation, and it is said that this storehouse Sagami was used as a strategy meeting place for the incident.
Shinagawa-juku Stone Monument
Further south from the Dozo Sagami ruins is Shinakai Park, where a stone monument to Shinagawa-juku has been placed.
Shinagawa Shrine
I was not able to go there this time, but to the west of the Kita-Shinagawa shopping street is Shinagawa Shrine, which was founded by Minamoto no Yoritomo and is said to be a shrine of prayer fulfillment, and is associated with the Tokugawa family, as Ieyasu Tokugawa prayed for victory before the Battle of Sekigahara. It is said to be a beautiful shrine located on a hill after climbing a steep staircase. Please visit the shrine.
Ruins of Tokaido Shinagawa-juku Honjin
If you continue on past Shinakai Park, where the Shinagawa-juku is located, you will find Seiseki Park. In fact, this is the site of the Shinagawa-juku Honjin. The name “Seiseki Koen” comes from the fact that the park was used as a post for the Emperor Meiji during his trip to the east in 1868.
Shinagawa Bridge
Further south, you will see the Shinagawa Bridge. The bridge was built between the Kita-Shinagawa and Minami-Shinagawa stations of the Tokaido Highway, and was divided into north and south sections by the Meguro River over the bridge. I looked at the bridge with deep emotion and wondered how people in the past passed through here.
