Edo Five Routes

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The Gokaidō

The 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.

1 The Five Routes
2 Other routes
3 See also
4 References

[edit] The Five Routes

Nihonbashi's highway distance marker, marking the beginning of 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.^[1]
Kōshū Kaidō: The Kōshū Kaidō had 44 stations, connecting with Kai Province (Yamanashi Prefecture), before ending at the Nakasendō's Shimosuwa-shuku.^[2]
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.^[3]
Nikkō Kaidō: The Nikkō Kaidō had 21 stations, connecting with Nikkō Tōshō-gū in modern-day Tochigi Prefecture.^[4]

[edit] Other routes

The Tōkaidō in 1865.

Nakasendō's Magome-juku

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.