가스카베주쿠

A post town was a town designated by the shogunate to provide post station services. In the Edo period, when the only means of transport were palanquins carried by people and horses, porters and horses were kept at regular intervals for traveling samurai and court nobles and for relaying goods.
When shogunate officials, feudal lords, court nobles or officials connected with Nikko passed through, they could use porters and horses free of charge or at official rates lower than private ones. Post towns therefore had a post station office, a honjin and a waki-honjin, and residents were obliged to provide porters and horses. In return, by the mid-Edo period, Kasukabe-juku was exempted from land tax on 10,000 tsubo of residential land and allowed to hold regular markets.
The end nearer Nikko was the upper part of Kasukabe. Asahi-cho (formerly Teramachi and Yokocho), home to Saishoin Temple of the Shingon sect, stood at the far end, followed along the road by Kamicho, Nakacho, Shinjuku and Sanmaibashi. At the entrance on the Edo side stood Gozu Tenno Shrine (now Yasaka Shrine), dedicated to the town's market deity.

Volunteer guides show you around town. Why not enjoy history and art while listening to interesting stories? Courses include the Saishoin Temple course, the Local History Museum course and the Higashi Hachiman Shrine course.