Arai Barrier

A barrier used to be a facility for inspection and tax collection, installed in strategic locations in traffic.
Speaking in modern terms, it is equivalent to the present-day immigration points at airports. In order to pass, a passage certificate called “tsuko tegata” was required, and people who did not have such a certificate were not allowed to pass.

The barrier was built in the 5th year of the Keicho Era (1600) and it was abolished in the 2nd year of the Meiji Era (1869).

The Arai Barrier was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu along Tokaido. Among the roads (ways) of old Japan, Tokaido was the most widely traveled road. The Edo Shogunate directly managed it for 100 years, setting it as a particularly high-level security system.

It has been certified as a National Historical Site of Japan due to its importance in understanding the history of Japan.