Kumagawa originally was a lonely village of only about 40 houses.
However it was an important place for traffic and military strategy,so, Kumagawa had continued to prosper and resulted in over 200 houses in the Edo era. In Wakasa district the seafood caught on the Sea of Japan had been carried to Kyoto since in ancient times. Kumagawa-juku was the important post town on the Wakasa highroad which was one of the routes to Kyoto. A lot of mackerel caught there had been carried from Wakasa to Kyoto since the latter part of 18th century. And therefore the Wakasa highroad came to be called the Mackerel highroad.(Quote:http://www.national-trust.or.jp/rhlist/rhwest_e/06.html)
Kumagawa, Wakasa-Town,Fukui-Prefecture,Japan
June 2015,Olympus OM-D E-M1
熊川は，元々は戸数二十軒の鄙びた寒村でしたが，軍事と交通の要衝の性格を帯びるに従い，若狭街道（若狭湾～京都）の宿場町として繁栄し，特に日本海の鯖が特産品として多く京に運ばれ，鯖街道とも呼ばれました。
福井県若狭市熊川区
2015年6月撮影，Olympus OM-D E-M1