- Graveyard for Mushukunin (drifters)
Graveyard for Mushukunin (drifters)
A resting place of drainage labourers in Aikawa
Inscribed with birthplace, posthumous Buddhist names, names and ages of twenty-eight mushukuknin, who worked as a drainage labourer and deceased underground in 1853, a gravestone stands in the middle of mountains. In the Edo Period, to secure labour at the gold mine, 1,800-some mushukunin were forced to come and work in a mine from Edo (present-day Tokyo), and Osaka and Nagasaki, both of which were under direct control of the Edo Shogunate. Mushukunin is people who do not have fixed address arrested under the Shogunate's public security measures. Due to the hard labour, mushukunin is said to have lived a short life.
Facility Basic Information
- Address
- Aikawa Sotokumachi, Sado, Niigata
- Transport Access
- Ryotsu Port Approx 50 minutes by car
- Nearest bus stop
- Sado Kinzanmae [Sado Gold Mine] （Honsen [Main Line], Nanaura Kaigansen Line） Approx. 15 minutes on foot from bus stop
- Parking
- Not Available
Nearby Spots
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Heritage and RelicsOld Aikawa Detention House
Up the hill on Kyomachi Street in Aikawa, you will see an ivy-covered three-metre high concrete wall. Aikawa Detention House was opened as a branch of Niigata Prison in 1954, and was in use until 1972 when it was relocated in the Sawata area. Designated as Japan's Tangible Cultural Property, this is a wooden detention house still in existence, which is rarely found in Japan. Aikawa Detention House is open to the public and free of charge, so you can take a look around.
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Townscape Other Tea House/Coffee ShopGashima Cinema
Gashima Cinema is located on historical Kyomachi Street, which connects Sado Gold and Silver Mine with the Sado Commissioner's Office. This former residence of the Sado Gold Mine captain, built about 80 years ago, has been converted into a café while maintaining the ambiance of the olden days. A monthly featured film is shown daily, and a monthly book corner provides movie-related books. An old carbon arc film projector, which was once used at an actual movie theatre, is on display. This spot is perfect for a break on a stroll through history, in the old mining town of Aikawa.
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Gold and Silver Mines Heritage and RelicsHistoric Site Sado Kinzan Gold Mine
Sado Kinzan Gold Mine is a collection of historic relics which tell the 400-year history of Sado's gold and silver mines. On the Edo Kinzan Emaki (illustrated scrolls of gold mines) course (Sodayu Tunnel course), full-size dolls and robots provide accurate presentations of the workings of the mines in the past. On the Meiji Government-Controlled Mine course (Doyu Tunnel course), relics of modernization and industrialization still remain. Furthermore, there is also a guided tour course which includes facilities such as "The Best Gold Processing Plant in Asia" and "Japan's First Wetsern-Style Vertical Tunnel", that will cause visitors to marvel at the impressive scale.
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Shrines and Buddhist Temples PlantsDaianji Temple
Daianji was established in 1606 by Nagayasu Okubo, the first Commissioner of Sado. A long, beautifully cobbled path leads up to the Sanmon gate, and the main hall features the temple crest of three leaves of hollyhock in a circle. The temple houses a memorial tower built by Nagayasu Okubo prior to his death, and a memorial tower for Hikozaemon Kawamura who was involved in the early-stage development of the Sado gold and silver mines. Both towers are National Historic Sites. This temple also holds the burial grounds for officials who served the Sado Commissioner's Office. A spectacular Machilus thunbergii (bay tree) grove, a Sado Natural Monument, stands behind the graveyard. Drastic urbanization due to the development of the mines significantly changed the landscape of the Aikawa area. Still, groves within the grounds of temples and shrines retain their native vegetation. Many plants such as the giant Machilus thunbergii, camellia and Euonymus japonicus (Japanese spindle) grow in the dense natural woodland of Daianji Temple.
Stores where you can eat and drink nearby
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Casual Eatery Tea House/Coffee Shop Set menus/Rice bowls/Kamameshi(hot pot rice) Soba (buckwheat) and Udon Noodles Japanese-style Curry with Rice Chinese Ramen NoodlesKinzanjaya
Kinzanjaya is an eatery located in the third car park of the historic site "Sado Gold Mine". You can enjoy lunch made from fresh seafood. Kinzan Soba (buckwheat noodles) topped with chewy mekabu seaweed, shrimp tempura and iwanori seaweed and gold dust is highly recommended. In addition, "Kinzan Curry" served in a shape of Doyu no Wareto (split mountain top of the gold mine), and "Special Kaisendon", are popular menu items among others.
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Italian Cuisine Casual Eatery Soba (buckwheat) and Udon NoodlesSoba Restaurant Yozaemon
This relaxing, tranquil restaurant was converted from the home of a mine captain on Aikawa's Kyomachi Street. Highlights include hand-kneaded soba noodles made from home-grown-and-ground buckwheat, soba croquettes, and soba shiruko (sweet red bean soup with soba dumplings). This restaurant is open on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays only.
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Townscape Other Tea House/Coffee Shop
Gashima Cinema
Gashima Cinema is located on historical Kyomachi Street, which connects Sado Gold and Silver Mine with the Sado Commissioner's Office. This former residence of the Sado Gold Mine captain, built about 80 years ago, has been converted into a café while maintaining the ambiance of the olden days. A monthly featured film is shown daily, and a monthly book corner provides movie-related books. An old carbon arc film projector, which was once used at an actual movie theatre, is on display. This spot is perfect for a break on a stroll through history, in the old mining town of Aikawa.