160308-0022 - Rokugogawa Ferry Crossing

Ferry Boats at the Rokugogawa River (六郷川), as the Tamagawa River (多摩川) is called near its mouth, in Kawasaki (川崎市), Kanagawa Prefecture.

Rokugo used to be the busiest river crossing on the route between Kyoto and Edo (current Tokyo). It had no less than eight ferryboats to transport the many travelers that crossed the river here.

During the Edo Period (1603–1868), daimyo lords were forced by the shogunate to spend alternate years in Edo and their own place. This system was known as Sankin-kotai.

The daimyo processions were so large that boats had to be brought in from the surrounding villages whenever one crossed here.