Nakasendō
Sign in to savethumb|right|Original ishidatami (stone paving) on the Nakasendō thumb|The Five Routes The , also called the , was one of the centrally administered five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the de facto capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto. There were 69 stations (staging-posts) between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces. In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, the Nakasendō runs through the modern-day prefectures of Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, Gifu and Shiga, with a total distance of about .
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Pre-Nakasendō
- Ritsuryō
- Sengoku period
- Creation of the Nakasendō
- Today
- National Historic Site
- See also
- References
thumb|right|Original ishidatami (stone paving) on the Nakasendō thumb|The Five Routes The , also called the , was one of the centrally administered five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the de facto capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto. There were 69 stations (staging-posts) between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces. In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, the Nakasendō runs through the modern-day prefectures of Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, Gifu and Shiga, with a total distance of about .
Unlike the coastal Tōkaidō, the Nakasendō traveled inland, hence its name, which can be translated as "中 = central; 山 = mountain; 道 = route" (as opposed to the Tōkaidō, which roughly meant "eastern sea route"). Because it was such a well-developed road, many famous persons, including the haiku master Matsuo Bashō, traveled the road. In the late 1830s Hiroshige also walked the Nakasendo, contributing 46 designs to a series of 69 views of the Nakasendo, which was later completed by Keisai Eisen.