The Hakone Checkpoint was located along the
old Tōkaidō Road was administrated by the Odawara domain and was the most important
checkpoint during the Edo period. Here, travelers were checked to make sure guns weren’t
being smuggled into the Shogun’s capital of Edo (Tokyo) and women heading west
were scrutinized to make sure the weren’t the wives or daughters of feudal
lords. These women were held as virtual hostages in Edo to ensure the good behavior
of the 250+ feudal lords when they returned to their domains every other year. text and photography by Rekishi no Tabi on
Flickr