The Bitter End

Art of the Edo Period

The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido

3. Kanagawa-juku (Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama)

Kanagawa-juku

Kanagawa-juku was the third of the fifty-three stations of the Tokaido. It is located in Kanagawa-ku in the present-day city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is close to Kanagawa Port. Many of its historical artifacts were destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake and bombings during World War II.

History

Kanagawa-juku was established parallel to Kanagawa Port and it flourished as part of the route that goods traveled on the way to Sagami Province. Though the area had officially been designated as the place for the port to be opened, it was actually opened on the opposite shore in what is now Naka-ku, Yokohama.

After the country was opened to international trade, the center of commerce was moved to the opposite shore as well. In 1889, the town of Kanagawa was established, and it eventually merged into Yokohama in 1901.