Tōkaidō (road)

Tōkaidō (road)

The nihongo|Tōkaidō|東海道|East Sea Road was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name.

Traveling the Tōkaidō

The standard method of travel was by foot, as wheeled carts were almost non-existent and heavy cargo was usually sent by boat. Members of the higher class, however, traveled by "kago". Women were forbidden to travel alone and had to be accompanied by men. Other restrictions were also put in place for travelers, but, while severe penalties existed for various travel regulations, most seemed not to be enforced.

There were government-sanctioned post stations along the Tōkaidō for travelers to rest in. These stations consisted of porter stations and horse stables, as well as lodging, food and other places a traveller may visit. The original Tōkaidō was made up of 53 stations between the termination points of Edo and Kyoto. At a few points along the route, there were checkpoints where travelers had to present traveling permits to pass.

Travel, particularly along the Tōkaidō, was a very popular topic in art and literature at the time. The famous artist Hiroshige depicted each of the 53 post stations ("shukuba") of the Tōkaidō in his work "The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō", and the haiku poet Matsuo Bashō travelled along the road. A great many guidebooks of famous places were published and distributed at this time, and a culture of virtual tourism through books and pictures thrived. Jippensha Ikku's "Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige", translated as "The Shank's Mare", is one of the more famous novels about a journey along the Tōkaidō.

Ōsaka Kaidō

In 1619, the Ōsaka Kaidō (大阪街道) was established, adding four more stations after Ōtsu-juku. These additions extended the route to Kōraibashi in Osaka. This extension was also called the Kyōkaido (京街道), or was described as being a part of the 57 stations of the Tōkaidō.

Modern-day Tōkaidō

Today, the Tōkaidō corridor is the most heavily travelled transportation corridor in Japan, connecting Greater Tokyo (including the capital Tokyo as well as Japan's second largest city Yokohama) to Nagoya (fourth largest), and then to Osaka (third largest) via Kyoto. The Tokyo-Nagoya-Kyoto-Osaka route is followed by the JR Tōkaidō Main Line and Tōkaidō Shinkansen, as well as the Tōmei and Meishin expressways.

References

* Traganeou, Jilly. 2004. [http://books.google.com/books?id=YHY6tUpA4aEC&dq=tokaido&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "The Tokaido Road: Traveling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan."] London: RoutledgeCurzon. 10-ISBN 0-415-31091-1; 13-ISBN 978-0-415-31091-8 (cloth)
*Vaporis, Constantine Nomikos. 1994. Breaking Barriers. Travel and the State in Early Modern Japan." Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-08107-2 (http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Barriers-Travel-Harvard-Monographs/dp/0674081072/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219068536&sr=8-1)

ee also

*Edo Five Routes
*Japan National Route 1
*Tōkaidō Main Line
*Tōkaidō Shinkansen
*Namamugi Incident

External links

* [http://www.milkcafe.com/~bruce/kaidou/ Walking the 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō] ja icon
* [http://www.guusrijven.com/eng/projects/tokaido/index.html Walk the Tōkaidō] - an interactive tour down the road.
* [http://www.pbs.org/empires/japan/traveltokaido.html Travel Tōkaidō] - from U.S. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
* [http://www.thetempleguy.com/akimeguri/tokaido/index.htm The Old Tōkaidō: The Eastern Sea Road] - Teacher James Baquet's log of a walk along the entire Tōkaidō, with photos and comparisons to Hiroshige's prints.
* [http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/tokaido/tokaido.htm The Fifty Three Stations of the Tokaido Road] - by Ando Hiroshige:* [http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/tokaido_editions/tokaido_editions.htm Arranged by station] :* [http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/tokaido_hoeido/images/tokaido_map.gifTōkaidō map]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Tokaido Road (novel) — Infobox Book | name = The Tokaido Road image caption = author = Lucia St. Clair Robson country = United States language = English series = genre = Historical novel publisher = Ballantine Books release date = 1991 media type = Print (Hardback… …   Wikipedia

  • Tōkaidō — (東海道) (literally, East Sea Route) may refer to: *Tōkaidō (region), an ancient country subdivision of Japan *Tōkaidō (road), one of the Five Routes of Japan during the Edo period **Route 1 (Japan), a major national highway in Japan that traces old …   Wikipedia

  • Tōkaidō (region) — The nihongo|Tōkaidō|東海道 was originally an old Japanese geographical region that made up the gokishichidō system and was situated along the southeastern edge of Honshū, its name literally means Eastern Sea Way . [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales… …   Wikipedia

  • Tokaido (Hiroshige) — Cinquante trois Stations du Tōkaidō Portrait de Hiroshige, le crâne rasé, à cinquante ans passés[N 1], par Kunisada. Les Cinquante trois Stations du …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tokaido — Der Tōkaidō (jap. 東海道, dt. „östlicher Seeweg“) war eine der wichtigsten Handelsstraßen (Kaidō) des alten Japan und verband Edo (das heutige Tokio) mit Kyōto. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Der historische Tōkaidō 1.1 Die 53 klassischen Stationen des… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tōkaidō dans l'art japonais — Le Tōkaidō la plus grande route du Japon de l ère Edo relie la capitale shogunale Edo à la capitale impériale Kyoto. Hiroshige la rend célèbre dans l art japonais par ses nombreuses séries d estampes sur les 53 « stations » qui… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tōkaidō — Der Tōkaidō (jap. 東海道, dt. „östlicher Seeweg“) war eine der wichtigsten Handelsstraßen (Kaidō) des alten Japan und verband Edo (das heutige Tokio) mit Kyōto. Daneben bezeichnet Tōkaidō auch nach dem Gokishichidō System eine Region bestehend aus… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tōkaidō Gojūsan-tsugi (video game) — Infobox VG title = Tōkaidō Gojūsan tsugi developer = Sunsoft publisher = Sunsoft producer = engine = released = JPN July 3, 1986 (original release) genre = Action game modes = Single player, Multiplayer ratings = platforms = Famicom media = Rom… …   Wikipedia

  • Tōkaidō — ▪ ancient road, Japan (Japanese:“Eastern Sea Road”),       historic road that connected Ōsaka and Kyōto with Edo (now Tokyo) in Japan. The Tōkaidō was 303 miles (488 km) long and ran mostly along the Pacific (i.e., southern) coast of the island… …   Universalium

  • 53 Stations du Tōkaidō — Cinquante trois Stations du Tōkaidō Portrait de Hiroshige, le crâne rasé, à cinquante ans passés[N 1], par Kunisada. Les Cinquante trois Stations du Tōkaidō …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”