Okitsu-juku(興津宿 Okitsu-juku) was the seventeenth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now part of the Shimizu-ku area of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
The 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō are the rest areas along the Tōkaidō, which was a coastal route that ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto.
The Tōkaidō road (東海道), which roughly means "eastern sea route," was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period in Japan, connecting Kyoto to Edo. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name.
Shimizu-ku is the easternmost of the three wards of the city of Shizuoka in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Okitsu-juku was established in 1601, just before the beginning of the Edo period. At its peak, there were approximately 316 buildings and 1,668 people. Among the buildings were two honjin , two sub-honjin and 34 hatago . It was a little over 11 kilometers from the preceding post station, Yui-shuku.
The Edo period or Tokugawa period (徳川時代) is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional daimyō. The period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, "no more wars", and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. The shogunate was officially established in Edo on March 24, 1603, by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period came to an end with the Meiji Restoration on May 3, 1868, after the fall of Edo.
Honjin (本陣) is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations (shukuba) during the later part of the Edo period.
Hatago (旅籠) were Edo period lodgings for travelers at shukuba along the national highways, including the Edo Five Routes and the subroutes. In addition to a place to rest, hatago also offered meals and other foods to the travelers. They were also called hatagoya (旅籠屋).
The classic ukiyo-e print by Andō Hiroshige (Hōeidō edition) from 1831–1834 depicts two sumo wrestlers being carried across the Okitsu River, one on a packhorse and the other in a kago .
Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. The term ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as "picture[s] of the floating world".
Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet.
A kago (駕籠) is a type of litter used as a means of human transportation by the non-samurai class in feudal Japan and into the Meiji period.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.
Mishima-shuku was the eleventh of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō during Edo period Japan. It is located in the present-day city of Mishima, in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Fujikawa-shuku was the thirty-seventh of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the present-day city of Okazaki, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was approximately 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Akasaka-juku, the preceding post station. Another accepted reading for this post town is "Fujikawa-juku."
Akasaka-juku was the thirty-sixth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in present-day Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was only 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) from Goyu-juku, the preceding post station.
Kanaya-juku was the twenty-fourth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now part of Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. During the Edo period, it was the easternmost post station of Tōtōmi Province.
Mariko-juku was the twentieth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now part of Suruga Ward in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It can also be written as 丸子宿 (Mariko-juku).
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.
Fujisawa-shuku was the sixth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the present-day city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Goyu-shuku was the thirty-fifth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in Goyu-chō in the city of Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. A pine tree colonnade, one of the few remnants from the Edo period post town, is a well-known tourist spot. It was approximately 10.4 kilometres (6.5 mi) from Yoshida-juku, the preceding post station.
Yui-shuku was the sixteenth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the Shimizu-ku area of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of four former post stations located in Shimizu-ku.
Kanbara-juku was the fifteenth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now part of the Shimizu-ku ward of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of four former post stations located in Shimizu-ku.
Hiratsuka-juku was the seventh of the fifty-three stations (shukuba) of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the present-day city of Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Numazu-juku was the twelfth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the present-day city of Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Nissaka-shuku was the twenty-fifth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now part of the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Ejiri-juku was the eighteenth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is one of four former post stations located in what is now part of the Shimizu-ku area of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was 3.4 kilometers from Okitsu-juku, the preceding post station.
Kakegawa-juku was the twenty-sixth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Futagawa-juku was the thirty-third of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now the city of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was the eastern most post station in Mikawa Province.
Fuchū-shuku was the nineteenth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now part of the Aoi-ku area of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Maisaka-juku was the thirtieth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the western portion of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. During the Edo period, the area was part of Tōtōmi Province. The kanji for the post station were originally written 舞坂 (Maisaka).
Yoshida-juku was the thirty-fourth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the center of what is now the city of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was 287 kilometres (178 mi) from the start of the route in Edo's Nihonbashi and 6.1 kilometres (3.8 mi) from Futagawa-juku to the east and 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) from Goyu-shuku to the west.