Hakone Sekisho Checkpoint

One of The Edo Period's Four Major Samurai Security Checkpoints

The Hakone Sekisho was once an important checkpoint to control traffic along the vital Tokaido route between Edo and the capital, Kyoto. There were 53 such samurai manned checkpoints across Japan on the various main kaido highways. Among them, four stations; the Nakasendo Highway’s Kiso-Fukushima in modern-day Nagano Prefecture and Usui in Gunma Prefecture, and on the Tokaido Highway, the Arai Sekisho in Shizuoka Prefecture and Hakone Sekisho, Kanagawa Prefecture, were considered the largest and most important. Travelers along the kaido were expected to undergo strict checks at these checkpoints. Hakone Sekisho was one of the most important because of its proximity to the Shogun’s capital, Edo. For most of its existence, the barrier was operated for the shogunate by the Odawara Domain.