Edo Five Routes

The nihongo|Five Routes|五街道|Gokaidō were the five major roads ("kaidō") that started at Edo (now Tokyo) during the Edo period, the most important of which was the Tōkaidō, which linked Edo and Kyoto. Tokugawa Ieyasu started the construction of these five routes in order to increase his control over the country in 1601, but it was Tokugawa Ietsuna, the 4th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate and Ieyasu's great-grandson, who declared them as major routes. Many post stations were set up along the route for travelers to rest and buy supplies.

The Five Routes

Each of the routes started at Nihonbashi in Edo. From that point, each road stretched out to link the capital with other parts of the country.;Tōkaidō:The Tōkaidō had 53 stations and ran along the Pacific coast, connecting with Kyoto. Once it reached Kusatsu-juku, it shared its route with the Nakasendō.;Nakasendō:The Nakasendō had 69 stations ran through the center of Honshū, connecting with Kyoto. The Nakasendō's Shimosuwa-shuku served as the end point for the Kōshū Kaidō. Also, the Nakasendō merged with the Tōkaidō at Kusatsu-juku. [http://web-japan.org/atlas/historical/his26.html Japan Atlas: Nakasendo] . WebJapan. Accessed August 2, 2007.] ;Kōshū Kaidō:The Kōshū Kaidō had 44 stations, connecting with Kai Province (Yamanashi Prefecture), before ending at the Nakasendō's Shimosuwa-shuku. [http://www.yumekaido.ne.jp/framepage4.htm Kōshū Kaidō Map] . ja icon Yumekaidō. Accessed September 4, 2007.] ;Ōshū Kaidō:The Ōshū Kaidō had 27 stations, connecting with Mutsu Province (Fukushima Prefecture). There were many subroutes that connected to other places of northern Japan, too. [http://www.yumekaido.ne.jp/ousyuframe.html Ōshū Kaidō Map] . ja icon Yumekaidō. Accessed September 4, 2007.] ;Nikkō Kaidō:The Nikkō Kaidō had 21 stations, connecting with Nikkō Tōshō-gū in modern-day Tochigi Prefecture. [http://www.ikedakai.com/nikkokaido1.html Nikkōdō] . Accessed August 15, 2007.]

Other routes

In addition to the five routes, there were many minor routes that were either branches of or alternates to the main routes, or infrequently used routes. Some of the routes were referred to as "hime kaidō", as they were alternate paths for main trade routes, but none were officially called that.

ee also

*Gokishichidō
*Kaidō

References