After a 4-hour trip by ferry from Miya, people in the Edo period arrived at Kuwana station. As shown in the Hiroshige's ukiyoe, there used to be a beautiful castle.

This area was governed by hudai daimyo, daimyo (feudal lord) who was a hereditary vassal of the shogun during the Edo period.

There are rivers (kiso, nagara, & ibi rivers), and here is a sad story... The district suffered heavy damage from the deluge in 1753. What the Edo (Tokugawa) Shogunate did was to use people from Tosa han (han:feudal clan) which was located in Shikoku, which is far away from this district. Tosa han had been governed by a tozama daimyo, daimyo who was not a hereditary vassal of the shogun. Approximately 1000 Tosa people were forced to come from Tosa han and to work for river improvement with no benefits. The river improvement ended with a great success one year later, but at a great cost---They spent fortune for the repairment. More than 30 people died of deseases. And more than 50 people comitted suicide. The last suicide was comitted by Hirata Yukie, who was in charge of the river improvement. Hirata killed himself after the improvement was done for holding himself responsible for the sacrifice. The sad story was kept secret by the Shogunate, and it was not revealed until the end of the Edo period.

• Distance from Nihonbashi: 374.9 km

Miya

Yokkaichi

Tokaido route

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