{"id":8199,"date":"2026-10-19T13:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T04:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=journal&p=8199"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:48:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:48:38","slug":"fushimi-momoyama-history","status":"publish","type":"journal","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/journal\/fushimi-momoyama-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading Fushimi’s History Era by Era: From Before the Castle to the Port Town, Chushojima and Modern Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Appeal of Fushimi-Momoyama<\/a><\/p>

Contents of this article<\/summary>First, distinguish the locations of the hills, the old town and Chushojima<\/a>The center of Fushimi shifted from era to era<\/a>Ancient, Heian and medieval periods: the mountain villa, the Fushimi-no-miya and villagers’ lives<\/a>Azuchi-Momoyama to the early Edo period: Hideyoshi’s castle building and Ieyasu’s political base<\/a>Edo period to the end of the shogunate: port trade, magistrates and Chushojima<\/a>Meiji era to the present: railways and industry, changes in work and land<\/a>Learn the history first, then choose the area to walk<\/a>References<\/a><\/details>

Fushimi’s history includes not only Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s castle, river shipping through the port and sake brewing, but also the imperial family and villagers before the castle was built, the Chushojima pleasure quarter, and the formation of railways and residential areas. The place at the center also differed from era to era. Looking only at the castle sites in the hills, or only at the sake brewery district, will not give you a grasp of how the area as a whole changed.<\/p>\n

This history guide brings together entry points to four articles, one for each era. Beyond the details of events, each article explains who used the land, what was transported, and how people worked and lived.<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a>
J\u014dsh\u016b Fushimi-machi zu (Map of Fushimi Town, Yamashiro Province), showing the town of Fushimi in the Tenp\u014d era (1830\u20131844). East is at the top and north is to the left, so you can take in the hills along the top, the town spreading out below and the positions of the waterways. This is not a map for measuring present-day town boundaries or road widths. Enlarge image<\/a>. Image: from Mirai e Tsumugu Fukakusa no Kioku (Memories of Fukakusa Woven for the Future) (courtesy of the Fukakusa Old Maps Project). Original material and bibliographic details<\/a>. Fukakusa Archives terms of use<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First, distinguish the locations of the hills, the old town and Chushojima<\/h2>\n

The Momoyama Hills to the east were home to the Fushimi mountain villa at Shigetsu, Fushimi-dono and, later, Fushimi Castle. West of the hills, daimyo residences and townspeople’s quarters were laid out, and the Kyobashi area to the south became the center of the port linking Kyoto and Osaka. The former Chushojima pleasure quarter consisted of Higashi-Yanagicho and Nishi-Yanagicho, and Minami-Shinchi, which developed after the railway opened, lies to their south. [1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 44<\/a>, 52<\/a>, 53<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Further north, Fukakusa had old settlements, temples and shrines, and in the modern era military land was also located there. Ogura Pond, which spread out to the south, was reclaimed in the 20th century. Today’s Fushimi Ward is an administrative ward that includes these different areas. This feature focuses on the old town and hills of Fushimi-Momoyama and on Chushojima, while also covering their relationship with the surrounding areas. [55<\/a>, 57<\/a>, 58<\/a>]<\/p>\n

<\/div>
A present-day map of Fushimi-Momoyama. It gives an overview of the old town around the stations, the hills to the east, and the sake brewery district and Chushojima to the south. Around the three stations \u2197<\/a> \/ Gokonomiya Shrine \u2197<\/a> \/ Sake brewery district \u2197<\/a> \/ Chushojima \u2197<\/a> \/ Imperial mausoleum \u2197<\/a> \/ Replica castle keep \u2197<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The center of Fushimi shifted from era to era<\/h2>\n

Toba in the Heian period, Yodo in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods and Fushimi in the early modern period all lie along the same rivers, yet the place that served as the hub of the port differed. Boats carrying members of the imperial family toward Kumano, boats bringing goods into Kyoto, and boats transporting castle materials or cargo from Osaka each had different destinations and required different facilities. The Port of Fushimi developed by Hideyoshi was a new hub that emerged within this long history of water transport. [DXH009<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Even in the castle era, the history is not confined to Shigetsu and Kohatayama. On the south bank of the Uji River, Mukaijima Castle was built and connected to the north bank by Bungo Bridge, today’s Kangetsukyo Bridge. When present-day areas such as Mukaijima Honmarucho are also taken into account, the picture emerges of a city that combined a castle on the hill with a castle on the opposite bank, and waterways with overland routes. [DXH001<\/a>, DXH002<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Era \/ change<\/th>\nSystems that drove the area<\/th>\nSurviving clues<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Medieval villages and the imperial residence<\/td>\nForests, fishing and farm produce, estate (sh\u014den) management, service to the imperial residence<\/td>\nVillage names and people’s roles recorded in the Kanmon Nikki<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The regimes of Hideyoshi and the early Tokugawa<\/td>\nCastle building and land development, the s\u014dgamae that enclosed the city with moats and earthen ramparts, the castle on the opposite bank, monetary policy and daimyo residences<\/td>\nStone walls, roof tiles and changes in ground level, town names, the buildings of Gokonomiya Shrine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Edo-period distribution city<\/td>\nTransshipment between large and small boats, towing boats by human power, lodging and business licenses<\/td>\nPictures of the boat landing, the boat turning basin, monuments to magistrates and residents<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Modern era to the postwar period<\/td>\nSteam and electric power, military roads and water supply, land reclamation, conversion of facilities<\/td>\nLocks, military-related buildings, former sites that became parks and schools<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

To understand today’s town, both the places where old buildings remain and the places that were turned into other facilities offer clues. Kitabori Park conveys the landform of the castle moat, part of which was also used for a modern water purification plant. The boat basin southwest of Chushojima Station was filled in and has become Fushimi Port Park. [DXH007<\/a>, DXH008<\/a>, DXH003<\/a>, DXH009<\/a>, DXH017<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Ancient, Heian and medieval periods: the mountain villa, the Fushimi-no-miya and villagers’ lives<\/h2>\n

Fushimi Before the Castle<\/a> covers farming and pottery-making in Fukakusa, the Fushimi mountain villa built at Shigetsu, and the palace of the Fushimi-no-miya, a house of the imperial family. Records of villagers offering performing arts at the palace also show how the imperial residence related to the surrounding community. The article also explains how Fushimi differed from the Toba Detached Palace and Daigo.<\/p>\n

Azuchi-Momoyama to the early Edo period: Hideyoshi’s castle building and Ieyasu’s political base<\/h2>\n

Fushimi Castle and Its Castle Town<\/a> traces separately the expansion from a residence into a castle, the relocation from Shigetsu to Kohatayama after the earthquake, and Ieyasu’s rebuilding. It covers the works that shifted the Uji River toward the Fushimi side, the embankments and highway across Ogura Pond, urban development including the port, the town layout and the Ginza (silver mint), and the city’s role as a political base, and also introduces what excavation findings such as stone walls and roof tiles bearing family crests reveal.<\/p>\n

If you want to learn about the place name that arose after the castle was abolished, you can continue to The Origin of the Name \u201cMomoyama\u201d<\/a>. The peach trees planted on the castle site, Emperor Meiji’s mausoleum and the present-day replica castle keep each belong to a different era.<\/p>\n

The work of the political base also included making coins and books. At the Ginza, silver had to be refined, its fineness checked and the official stamp applied; for the Fushimi-ban, books published under Ieyasu, type had to be set to reproduce the books. If you go beyond the explanation that daimyo gathered here and read on to what the regime sought to unify and which knowledge it tried to spread, the reasons for drawing people and skills to the castle town become concrete. The detailed article on the castle and castle town<\/a> explains the Ginza, publishing and diplomacy in terms of their respective systems and historical sources.<\/p>\n

Edo period to the end of the shogunate: port trade, magistrates and Chushojima<\/h2>\n

Fushimi in the Edo Period<\/a> covers the system that relayed boats and cargo between Kyoto and Osaka, the rule of the Fushimi magistrate, and residents who filed complaints over boat fares and the magistrate’s rule. It also places in this era how the Chushojima pleasure quarter was developed in anticipation of customers from the port, as well as the faith and festivals of Chokenji Temple.<\/p>\n

The Teradaya incidents of 1862 and 1866 and the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in 1868 are explained as separate events that took place in a town of ports and highways.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cFushimi<\/a>
\u201cFushimi Funaba\u201d (Fushimi Boat Landing) from Miyako Meisho Zue (Illustrated Guide to Famous Places of the Capital). The waterside where boats arrive, a bridge, the buildings lining the riverbank and people coming and going are depicted in a single scene. It is a picture of a famous place that conveys the port where boats met overland commerce, not a diagram showing the actual number of boats or the volume of traffic. 1786 edition, frame 303. Enlarge image<\/a>. Image: selected by Akisato Sh\u014dseki, illustrated by Shunch\u014dsai Takehara Nobushige \/ Ukai Collection, National Institute of Japanese Literature \/ ROIS-DS Center for Open Data in the Humanities (CODH). Original material and bibliographic details<\/a>. CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. CODH Pre-modern Japanese Text Dataset<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meiji era to the present: railways and industry, changes in work and land<\/h2>\n

Fushimi from the Modern Era to the Present<\/a> traces the canals, electric trains, the Misu Lock, the market expansion of the sake industry and the military land in Fukakusa. For Chushojima, it covers the business regulations from the Meiji era onward and the burdens borne by the women who worked there, Minami-Shinchi after the railway opened, and the changes from 1958 onward to ochaya (teahouses), inns, housing and restaurants.<\/p>\n

The Misu Lock is a facility that raises and lowers boats so they can pass between the Gogawa River and the Uji River, which have different water levels, and it is also called the \u201cPanama Canal of Fushimi.\u201d The modern-era article traces, alongside construction photographs, the improvement of the navigation route in the Meiji era, flood control measures in the Taisho era, the lock’s completion in 1929 and the decline of freight transport. [36<\/a>] [93<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The reclamation of Ogura Pond and the conversion of military land were events that changed where people lived. In addition to the history of places where old buildings survived, you can also read the history of land whose use has changed.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The town of Fushimi seen from the balcony of Fushimi Commercial School. The material’s period classification is the Taisho era. Image: from Mirai e Tsumugu Fukakusa no Kioku (Memories of Fukakusa Woven for the Future) (courtesy of \u9d5c\u98fc \u5b9f\u5e78). Image source<\/a>. Fukakusa Archives terms of use<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Black-and-white<\/a>
The Port of Fushimi in the prewar Showa era. Image based on a photograph published in Kyoto Shimbun’s Shashin de Miru Kyoto Hyakunen (A Hundred Years of Kyoto in Photographs). Year taken unknown. This photograph does not show the present-day river width or water level. Image: photographer unknown (scanned and edited by \u3042\u3070\u3055\u30fc). Original material and image source<\/a>. Public domain<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Learn the history first, then choose the area to walk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Topic of interest<\/th>\nArticle to read for details<\/th>\nConnection to present-day places<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
The mountain villa, the palace and village society<\/td>\nBefore the Castle<\/a><\/td>\nShigetsu and Gokonomiya Shrine, Fukakusa to the north. A separate area from Toba<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Relocation of the castle and urban development<\/td>\nFushimi Castle and Its Castle Town<\/a><\/td>\nShigetsu, Kohatayama, Otesuji, Ginzacho, etc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
River shipping, residents and the formation of Chushojima<\/td>\nThe Edo-Period Port Town<\/a><\/td>\nKyobashi, the site of the magistrate’s office, Higashi-Yanagicho and Nishi-Yanagicho<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Railways, industry and postwar life<\/td>\nThe Modern Era Onward<\/a><\/td>\nSumizome, Misu, Chushojima Station and Minami-Shinchi, Fukakusa, the former Ogura Pond<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

You can find today’s sights in the area-by-area guide<\/a>, and the order for walking from Gokonomiya Shrine through the shopping streets and the sake brewery district to Chushojima in the half-day walking plan<\/a>. That plan is not a route that covers every location mentioned in the four era articles in half a day.<\/p>\n

References<\/h2>\n