Echigo Mountains

The mountain border between Echigo and Kōzuke was crossed by the Mikuni road, which connected the Japan Sea side of Honshu with the route to Edo. From Takasaki the road branched off the Nakasendō, climbed through the northern valleys and crossed Mikuni Pass. The passage brought travellers through a succession of post stations rather than across an open plain.

During the Edo period, Echigo lords and officials responsible for Sado used this road. It also carried people forcibly sent from Edo to work in drainage at the Sado mines. On the Kōzuke side, Nagai served as the first post station after crossing the pass. The Fueki family combined village leadership with responsibility for its principal lodging and transport arrangements. Mountain travel consequently depended on institutions that provided accommodation and organised onward movement, joining remote valleys to the administrative demands of the shogunate.