The Usui Checkpoint Ruins

The Usui Checkpoint Ruins, in Gunma prefecture, was once a significant checkpoint on the Nakasendo Route during the Edo period (1603 – 1867). The route connected the Nagano area to the Edo (now Tokyo) area, and the Usui Checkpoint was guarded heavily as the border point between the two areas.
The checkpoint went out of use entering the Meiji period (1868 – 1912), and in 1960, a museum was built on the ruins. The museum closed down in early 2018, and the documents there can now be found in a municipal facility near the Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park.