 This name finds its origins in the fact that there was a bridge ("hashi" 橋) crossing the Tone River and not far from the bridge there was a small refreshment house with a stable ("umaya" 駅家), often used by people travelling on the Tōzan-dō (the way that was connecting the capital to the eastern regions of Japan).The spelling was officially changed into Maebashi (前橋) in 1649 during the Edo period when Maebashi became a castle town and the center of Maebashi Domain, a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate.As of 2010, Greater Maebashi, Maebashi Metropolitan Employment Area, has a GDP of US$59.8 billion.