Sakashita-juku

nihongo|Sakashita-juku|坂下宿|Sakashita-juku was the forty-eighth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the present-day city of Kameyama, in Mie Prefecture, Japan.

History

Sakashita flourished as a post town during the Edo period because of its location at the entrance to the Suzuka Pass (鈴鹿峠 "Suzuka Tōge"). [http://www.kameyama-kanko.com/home/map/sakasita/index.html Sakashita-juku & Suzuka Pass Area] . Kameyama City Tourism Association. Accessed January 13, 2007.] However, the Suzuka Pass was also the reason for the post town's decline in the Meiji period; the pass was too steep for rail lines to be laid, so the rail went through Tsuge Station (present-day Iga), bypassing the formerly flourishing town.

Today, there are only a few private residences left at the site of the former post station, as well as very little historical architecture. The only thing that marks the former site is a stone marker built by the former town of Seki.

Neighboring Post Towns

;Tōkaidō:Seki-juku - Sakashita-juku - Tsuchiyama-juku

References