Shikemichi

The district was founded for merchants at the time when Nagoya Castle was constructed as the seat of the Owari lords in 1610 CE (Keichō 15), following the move from the town of Kiyosu.

The merchants who lived and worked here in their machiya houses traded in rice, miso, sake, salt, charcoal and wood.

As a result, Tokugawa Yoshimichi, the 4th lord of Owari, decided to widen the back street that runs parallel to the Hori Canal.

The name is thought to date back to time of the migration of the seat of government from Kiyosu to Nagoya in 1610 CE.

The inscription on the ornamental metal knobs are inscribed with "Gojō Bridge, Keichō 7, Year of the Tiger, June, Lucky Day."

Shikemichi in central Nagoya (2012)
Woodblock print of the Shikemichi, depicting the Sengen shrine at the lower part, and the Gojō bridge over the Hori river in the upper part. (Depiction from the Owari meisho zue , 19th century)
Yanegamisama (屋根神さま) rooftop shrine on one of the houses