After lunch we went to Hakone Sekisho. We went through the museum and toured the grounds. It started raining toward the end of our visit, but the rain didn't last very long. On clear days, mount Fuji can be seen from Hakone Sekisho, but alas, not that day.
In the gift shop they had spinning tops which could flip to the top and continue spinning. I thought it would be a great souvenir for the kids, and Masao-San saw me admiring them and bought a couple for me, along with a puzzle box. It was so sweet.
Tokugawa shogun placed 53 sekisho (inspection checkpoints) on major roads across the nation to defend Edo (current Tokyo). Hakone Sekisho was one of the largest and was thought to be important among them. Hakone Sekisho was placed on the current location in 1619, during an early period of Edo Era. One of the main roles of sekisho was to control 'incoming guns and outgoing women,' which meant preventing weapons from being brought into Edo and wives and children of feudal lords from fleeing Edo. However, Hakone Sekisho did not inspect 'incoming guns,' very seriously, but severely inspected 'outgoing women.' Sekisho, which operated for about 260 years during Edo Era, was dissolved in the year of 1868, when the government changed.
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| They would "inspect" the women's hair for lice, and keep the women as hostages so the men would return |
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| Climbing the stairs to the lookout tower |
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| The lookout at the top of the hill |
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| Such a beautiful view--I had to get several pictures--I wasn't all the way to the top at this point |
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| The weapons range |
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| Sign indicating Mt Fuji can be seen... |
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| ...but not that day |
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