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Niekawa-juku 贄川宿
| Nakasendō (中山道) | Station 33 of 69 · Nihonbashi (Edo) → Kyoto (via Kusatsu) |
|---|---|
| Present-day location | Shiojiri, Nagano, Japan |
| Prefecture | Nagano (Chubu region) |
| Distance from Nihonbashi | About 246 km (by the historical station tables) |
| Next station | Narai-juku — about 7.3 km on |
| Coordinates | 36.0098° N, 137.8585° E |
Niekawa-juku (贄川宿, Niekawa-juku) was the thirty-third of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
History
Niekawa was originally written as 熱川 (niekawa, "warm river") because there were onsen in the area, which made the river warm. However, the kanji were eventually changed to the ones used today.
Originally built in the Tenbun period (1532-1555), it was the first of 11 resting spots along the Kisoji (木曽路), which stretched to modern-day Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture. It also marked the dividing point between the lands of Owari Han and Matsumoto han. It became part of the Nakasendō during the Edo period.
Neighboring post towns
- Nakasendō
- Motoyama-juku - Niekawa-juku - Narai-juku
- Kisoji
- Niekawa-juku (starting location) - Narai-juku
Text adapted from the English Wikipedia article Niekawa-juku by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Station facts cross-checked with the road station lists (Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
