Hakone was famous in the Edo period (1603-1868) for its “Hakone Sekisho” checkpoint to the Edo region. Even today, one of the first things that come to mind is Hakone Sekisho when people think of Hakone.
As the famous phrase「入り鉄砲に出女」(Entering guns and leaving women) suggests, the shogunate was very careful about guns entering Edo and women leaving.
At the checkpoint, women who tried to leave Edo were scrutinized by female officials called “Hitomi-onna”.
Initially, there were no residents near this checkpoint. Still, in 1618, the year before the checkpoint was built, 50 families each from nearing Odawara and Mishima were forced to move to Hakone, and this was the beginning of Hakone-juke, one of the stations.
In 1619, the checkpoint was built to check people and goods passing through.
The checkpoint was closed in 1869. A reconstruction project began when an old document with a detailed checkpoint description was discovered in 1983.
Excavations based on this document began in 1999.
In 2007, the gate was opened to the public in an almost exact replicated state of its original appearance.
The museum next to the checkpoint is a great place to learn about the area’s history and reflect on the old days.
The writer of this article.
Guide: Hiroshi Yasuo
During my 8 years of living abroad, I recognized that Japan was not properly understood, so I started working as an interpreter/guide.
Although many foreigners visit Hakone, I will strive to make Hakone more interesting to them by introducing many of its attractions rather than explaining them in a common way.
