was the twelfth of the sixty-nine stations

69 Stations of the Nakasendo

The are the rest areas along the Nakasendō, which ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto. The route stretched approximately and was an alternate trade route to the Tōkaidō.-Stations of the Nakasendō:...

 of the Nakasendō

Nakasendo

The , also called the , was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces...

. It is located in the present-day city of Takasaki

Takasaki, Gunma

is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on April 1, 1900.Takasaki is a regional transportation hub because its train station is the junction of several rail lines as well as a Shinkansen stop....

, Gunma Prefecture

Gunma Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.- History :The remains of a Paleolithic man were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.Japan was without horses until...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

History

Kuragano-shuku was an intersection between the Nakasendō and the Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō

Nikko Reiheishi Kaido

The was established during the Edo period as a subroute to Nikkō Kaidō. It connects the Nakasendō with the Nikkō Kaidō.-Stations of the Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō:...

. Travelers coming from Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 would use this route to get to Nikkō

Nikko, Tochigi

is a city in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Approximately 140 km north of Tokyo and 35 km west of Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi Prefecture, it is a popular destination for Japanese and international tourists...

. (If they were coming from Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

, they would have used the Nikkō Kaidō

Nikko Kaido

The was one of the five routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo with the Nikkō Tōshō-gū, which is located in the present-day city of Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 1617 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, in order for him to have a smoother route to the shrine...

.) During the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, it was a popular port for trader ships on the Karasu River

Karasu River (Gunma)

The is a river located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. It is a branch of the Tone River and the government of Japan classifies it as a Class 1 river. It generally flows in a south-easterly direction.- River communities :...

.

Neighboring post towns

Nakasendō

Shinmachi-shuku

Shinmachi-shuku

was the eleventh of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, Japan.-History:Though Shinmachi-shuku is the eleventh post station on the Nakasendō, it was actually the last station to be developed.-References:...

 - Kuragano-shuku - Takasaki-shuku

Takasaki-shuku

was the thirteenth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, Japan.-History:Takasaki-shuku was located at the intersection of the Nakasendō and the Mikuni Kaidō...

Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō

Kuragano-shuku (starting location) - Tamamura-shuku