Yodo-juku

• Japanese: 淀 宿 (Yodo juku)

Yodo-juku was a post-station along the extension of the Tôkaidô highway linking Kyoto and Osaka. Closely associated with Yodo castle, it was located near the confluence of the Kizugawa, Ujigawa, and Katsuragawa rivers, to the south of Fushimi. The post-town was home to some 2800 people at its peak, and over 830 buildings, of which sixteen were hatago inns. There was no honjin.

History

Yodo (at that time known as Yodo-tsu 与等津) served as a notable river port in the Heian period, serving the imperial capital of Heian-kyô prior to the development of the port of Fushimi and the associated Fushimi castle. In the Kamakura period, it came to be a center of fishing and of the selling of salted fish; numerous toiya warehouses associated with the salted fish business popped up. Because of its location at the confluence of three rivers, this area was always a major hub of travel and trade.

References

• Kusaba Kayoko 草葉加代子, Kyôkaidô to Yodogawa shûun 京街道と淀川舟運. Osaka: Daikoro (2019), 48.