Magome-juku

Magome (Japanese马 笼, Magome - juku also马 笼 宿) was the 43rd of the 69 stations of the Nakasendō, an ancient highway that linked Edo to Kyoto and in Japan. This well-preserved part of section is located on the territory of the town Nakatsugawa in Gifu Prefecture ( until February 2005 Magome belonged to the village in the district of Yamaguchi Kiso (木 曽 郡, -gun ) of Nagano Prefecture).

History

In the Meiji period Magome was one of the 11 post stations on the Nakasendō and as such, a relatively prosperous and cosmopolitan city that lived by the traveler. However, it coincided with the completion of the Chūō Main Line, a railway that led to Magome over, in poverty and obscurity. In recent decades, it has been restored according to their appearance as a post office of the Meiji period and is now a popular tourist attraction.

The main attraction is the restored row of houses along the previous post road that goes up a slope extends between the lower and upper end of town. Most of the houses were built for ordinary people in the middle of the 1700s and included shops and accommodation for travelers on the Nakasendō. A portion of the original road still remains between Magome and Tsumago, the next post town ( also restored).

Magome was told birthplace of the writer Shimazaki Toson (1872-1943), who over the area around Kiso in his most famous short story Before the Dawn (夜明け 前, Yoake mae ). He is buried in the small cemetery of the city.

The city also offers a beautiful view of the 2190m high mountain Ena. Picturesque views of the surrounding mountains can be enjoyed from a vantage point above the parking lot at the upper end of Magome.