Japan Day 3

This was one of the most significant and strictly enforced inspection stations established by the Tokugawa shogunate during Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868) on the main route connecting Kyoto and Edo (modern Tokyo). It controlled the movement of people and goods, to prevent weapons from entering Edo and to stop the wives and children of feudal lords (daimyō) from escaping the capital, a policy summarized as “incoming guns and outgoing women”

The statue depicts searching for messages hidden in a woman’s hair.

Hakone Sekisho operated for about 260 years 

Travelers passing through  had to present official permits, and any attempt to bypass the checkpoint or travel without proper documentation was a serious offense, sometimes punishable by death.

The checkpoint’s strict enforcement and its strategic location  made it a symbol of the shogunate’s authority.