Kumagawa Jinya

The picture above overlooks the jin'ya site from partway down the trail from the castle. I've included photos from the post town in a sub album below. Confectionery shops, cafes and a coffee roastery in the old buildings also make this town an enjoyable stop for almost anyone. There is a great l

History

See Kumagawa Castle for the early history of Kumagawa as a castle town. Asano Nagamasa recognized the potential importance of Kumagawa and laid the foundations for a prosperous post town in 1589 with tax incentives to lure merchants and tradesmen. Following the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), Kyogoku Takatsugu established the jin'ya here. The remit of Kumagawa Jin'ya was expanded to cover civil affairs in 1634. The jin'ya became a bugyosho and the guardhouse and checkpoint were also established at this time. For a jin'ya, a fairly large contingent of ashigaru foot soldiers were stationed here to patrol, keep the peace and help watch over this important trade route.

A bansho (guardhouse) and checkpoint was located at the north side of the city, or the side facing Kyoto. It was used to monitor traffic, check travel permits and levy taxes. The guardhouse seen in the photos below is original. When the jin'ya was dismantled it was sold and moved elsewhere but was purchased by the city and restored to its original form and location in 2002. It is a very rare example of an original guardhouse. It is open on most weekends and holidays but was not open this holiday due to a lack of staff (!).

This important checkpoint on the Wakasa Highway would function until the Meiji Period when it was dismantled in 1871.

Field Notes

The picture above overlooks the jin'ya site from partway down the trail from the castle.

I've included photos from the post town in a sub album below. Confectionery shops, cafes and a coffee roastery in the old buildings also make this town an enjoyable stop for almost anyone. There is a great little museum and tourist information center in town with explanations in both English and Japanese. The staff were very talkative and excited to have a foreign tourist. They put a lot of efforts into making the post town, museum and materials as bilingual as possible. We also had a nice conversation about travel, hiking and castling in the region. It sounds like there is a lot of good well developed hiking nearby if I ever get the chance to do so again. There is a kind of parking lot and service area on the Kyoto end of town near the bansho, but I found better materials and pamphlets at the museum.

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Kumagawa Juku

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Castle Profile
English Name	Kumagawa Jinya
Japanese Name	熊川陣屋
Founder	Kyogoku Takatsugu
Year Founded	1600
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Edo Period
Features	castle town
Visitor Information
Access	30 min bus from Omi Imazu Station (Kousei Line)
Hours	open times for facilities varies, some only open weekends and holidays
Time Required	15 mins for the jin'ya site
URL	Castle Website
Hiking Trail	View on Yamap
Location	Wakasa, Fukui Prefecture
Coordinates	35.44328, 135.90127
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2025
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2024
Admin Visits	Sept 27, 2024
Friends of JCastle
Jokaku Horoki

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