The Bitter End

Art of the Edo Period

The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido

5. Totsuka-juku (Totsuka-ku, Yokohama)

Totsuka-juku

Totsuka-juku was the fifth of the fifty-three stations (shukuba) of the Tokaido. 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.

History

Because Totsuka-juku was approximately one day's journey from Nihonbashi, it was a very common resting place for travelers at the start of the journey and the largest post station after Odawara-juku. Because of its size, there were two honjin in the post station as well, one belonging to the Sawabe family and the other belonging to the Uchida family. Another reason for Totsuka-juku being so large was that it was also the intersection of Kamakura Kaido and the Atsugi Kaido. A distance marker can now be found in both Shinano-cho and Totsuka-cho.

During the Bakumatsu period, when Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Uraga Harbor with his Black Ships, many frightened citizens fled to Totsuka-juku.

The classic ukiyoe print by Ando Hiroshige (Hoeido edition) from 1831-1834 depicts a traveler (one dismounting from a horse), entering into a tea-house. In the background, a wooden bridge leads across a stream to what appears to be a sizeable settlement.