TÅkaidÅ (road)

The Tōkaidō (Japanese东海道, dt "eastern sea " ) was one of the most important post and trade routes ( Kaidō ) of ancient Japan. In the Edo period, they joined the government seat of the Tokugawa Shogunate Edo (today's Tokyo) with the imperial capital of Kyoto.

Ritsuryō

With the introduction of ritsuryō management system on the Chinese model Japan also took over the post road system from China. Article 2 of the Taiho Code ' of 701 this was introduced in Japan.

As one of these streets the Tōkaidō was set up initially as a street 2nd class only had one after secondary importance. She started in Seta, then ran through the southeast of the province Ōmi through the checkpoint (关, seki or sino japanese kan) Suzuka no Seki (铃鹿关) in today's Kameyama, in the north of the province of Ise, followed roughly the Pacific coast to the capital the province of Hitachi. The highway and along the eastern region was thereby called the Tokaido. Furthermore, the road had three major branches:

The Ise -ji (伊势路), south to the Ise Shrine in Ise Province and east led to the province Shima from Suzuka;
Kai -ji (甲斐路) that branched in the province of Suruga the capital of the province of Kai;
A side road that branched in the province Shimousa the province of Awa on the Boso Peninsula.

In addition, there was a connector that the Tōkaidō joined Hitachi over the district Higashishirakawa in the province of Iwaki with the roughly north parallel Tosando, which also began in Suzuka.

After Minamoto no Yoritomo Kamakura shogunate, and exclaimed that the seat of government in 1192 emigrated to Kamakura, the Tōkaidō rose to the main street of Japan.

In addition, Japan was divided with the Gokishichidō system into eight major regions. The individual provinces of the seven ( shichi ) outer regions were doing ( dō ) connected via system of highways in the five provinces of the inner Kinki Region ( goki ) and took over the highways of this name. The Tōkaidō region here was composed of the following provinces:

Iga Province
Ise Province
Shima Province ( separated in the 8th century by Ise )
Owari Province
Mikawa Province
Tōtōmi Province
Suruga Province
Izu Province
Kai Province
Sagami Province
Musashi Province (before 771 in Region Tosando )
Awa Province ( separated by Kazusa 718, 741 separated to Kazusa, 757 back )
Kazusa Province ( part of the old province Fusa )
Shimousa Province ( part of the old province Fusa )
Hitachi Province

Edo period

During the Edo period (1603-1867) it has been redeveloped as Gokaidō and had a partially different route. Over a length of 488 kilometers, it first ran from Tokyo to Nagoya along the east coast of Honshu, and then over the mountains and along the south shore of Lake Biwa to Kyoto. During the Edo period was the Tōkaidō as an important thoroughfare an essential means of power ( sankin Kótai ) for the Shogun Dynasty to retain control of the country. The most important was the Hakone checkpoint Sekisho (箱根关所). On these is still the designation of the areas around Tōkyō as Kanto (关东" east of the checkpoint " ) and Kyōto to Kansai as (关西" west of the checkpoint " ) back. In the interior of the traffic ran over the Nakasendō.

The 53 traditional Stations of the Tōkaidō

Along the Tōkaidō total of 53 stations (宿场, shukuba ) were built between the bridges Nihonbashi in Edo and Sanjō - Ōhashi in Kyoto. It originated Inns, postal and customs stations. The stations are:

Today

As part of the modernization of Japan in the Meiji period and in the 20th century, the original route of the Tōkaidō was no longer used on links. Other routes are, however, still in use today as normal streets, sometimes even as National Road No. 1

Today, the course of the Tōkaidō Road is the busiest in Japan. It connects Tokyo ( Japan's capital and largest " city " ) via Nagoya Kyoto and Osaka. The route Tokyo - Nagoya - Kyoto - Osaka follow the Tōkaidō Main Line (railway) and the Tomei and Meishin highway. One of the first Japanese high-speed rail ( Shinkansen ), which connects with Osaka Tokyo since 1964, was named in memory of the traditional trade route Tōkaidō Shinkansen.

In Japanese art

The Tōkaidō practiced on Japanese artist and poet of great fascination. The best known of the wood cutting cycle is 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō the artist Utagawa ( Ando ) Hiroshige.

Station 16: Yui

777950