Travel

The Tokaido: Highway of the Floating World

tokaido_01 The great highway of old Japan known as the Tokaido (Eastern Sea Route) was more than a 488-kilometer route between Edo (the old name for Tokyo) and the capital, Kyoto, with 53 conveniently spaced post towns along the way. After its establishment in the early 17th century, the path became a fixture in the arts of Japan for its celebrated beauty and scenic spots. It also fueled a travel boom that gave Japan the distinction of having some of the best travel guide books in the world at the time.

One of the earliest of these was the 1658 guide Record of Famous Places on the Tokaido, written by Asai Ryoi, a ronin, or masterless samurai, who is considered to be Japan's first professional writer. It provided practical advice about the journey and background on the highlights alongside manga-like illustrations. On a treacherous spot of the Tokaido near Mishima, he wrote: "When it rains here, horses and people are all a-tumble, falling on their behinds and covered in filth as they scramble along." Asai also wrote Tales of the Floating World, a satirical story about a bumbling priest called Ukiyobo in which he defined the now-famous term "ukiyo" (floating world) of ukiyo-e:

Living only for the moment, turning our full attention to the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms, and the maple leaves; singing songs, drinking wine, diverting ourselves in just floating, floating, caring not a whit for the pauperism staring us in the face, refusing to be disheartened, like a gourd floating along with the river current; this is what we call the floating world.

The Tokaido: Rediscovering the Road Less Traveled

tokaido_02 The landscapes of the old Tokaido highway that linked the shogun's city of Edo (now Tokyo) with the ancient capital of Kyoto in feudal Japan were immortalized in Ando Hiroshige's woodblock print series "Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido." Today, they retain broad popular appeal after more than a century of industrialization following Hiroshige's 1832 journey down the Tokaido or Eastern Sea Route, in a shogunal delegation bearing a pair of gift horses for the emperor in a time-honored ritual of tribute.

Contrary to popular belief, fans of the ukiyo-e art master can still follow in his footsteps. Japan's rapid modernization following the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the upheavals of the 20th century saw widespread destruction of traditional cultural assets as well as the construction of the highway and railways that superceded the Tokaido itself, spawning the notion that the road used for centuries by feudal lords, pilgrims and other travelers had long been cemented over.

The Tokaido: Life in the Slow Lane

tokaido_03 Many visitors to Japan don't know what they're missing when they hop on a super-fast Shinkansen bullet train and make the trip to Kyoto from Tokyo in two hours and 20 minutes. Beyond the grey blur of industrialization outside the window are sections of a sandy path that for centuries was main route to the old capital–the Tokaido.

Although it has long been superseded by highway and rail networks that are the busiest in Japan, the old Tokaido, or Eastern Sea Road, can still be walked in places, even without inhaling clouds of vehicle exhaust. One section within easy reach of Tokyo is at the resort area of Hakone near Mt. Fuji southwest of Tokyo.

Despite the fact that the mountain pass was the toughest leg of the 488-kilomter route, the old Tokaido climbing from Yumoto hot spring to Moto-Hakone on the shores of Lake Ashi offers an easy, rewarding day ramble in the footsteps of famed warlords, samurai and artists of old.

Although its origins date to the seventh century, the Tokaido was formally established in the early Edo period (1600-1868) as one of the Five Highways radiating from Edo (the old name for Tokyo) under the Tokugawa shogunate. It bustled with street peddlers, roadside stalls and inns catering to travelers making their way by foot, horse or palanquin along the broad, scenic road following the Pacific that was marked by 53 post towns.

Retracing the Lost Kaga Kaido

The road by which the Maeda lords began the journey to Edo

For most Japanese, mention of Ishikawa, a prefecture along the Sea of Japan, brings to mind Kaga Hyakumangoku, “Kaga of the Million Koku.” “Kaga” was the former name of Ishikawa; koku was a unit of rice equal to about 180 liters, enough to feed an adult for a year. In an age when rice was the basis of the economy, Kaga was king. Entry-level daimyos earned only 10,000 koku annually. The Maeda, the rulers of Kaga, were the most affluent clan under the shogun during the Edo Period (1603-1867).

Notwithstanding their wealth and power, the Maeda were bound by the laws of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo, the old name for Tokyo. So, for example, they were required to spend alternate years at costly residences in the shogun’s city. While most daimyos traveled along the famous Tokaido highway linking Edo and Kyoto, the Maeda were only allowed to go to the shogun’s seat by the now-forgotten road known as the Kaga Kaido.

When the Maeda lord traveled to Edo, he had an escort of over a thousand samurai and other servants. According to one historian, the 600-kilometer two-week-long journey cost about ¥200 million ($2 million) at current prices. Today, however, little is known about the route taken by the Maeda and available information is contradictory. The Kaga Kaido often crops up as an epithet for the Hokkoku Kaido, or “North Country Road,” a name for several routes running north from the inland Nakasendo, one of the five great highways (Gokaido) of the Edo Period.

Taking the Scenic Route

Step into the past on the Nakasendo road’s Kiso Valley

f the old Tokaido highway was the main street of medieval Japan, the inland Nakasendo was one of its back roads. Although it was one of the “gokaido,” five principal arteries of the Edo Period (1600-1868), it was, compared to the Tokaido, little trafficked, an alternative route when rivers on Japan’s Pacific seaboard were in flood. Dating to the 8th century and officially established in the 17th, the Nakasendo linked Edo (now Tokyo) with the capital, Kyoto. It stretched 500 kilometers over rugged mountain passes and through the deep forests in what is today called Nagano. The ukiyo-e artist Ando Hiroshige fueled the Nakasendo’s popularity through a series of woodblock prints, just as he had done for the Tokaido. In comparison with the Tokaido, urbanized in places and largely superseded by railways and new highways, the Nakasendo remains unchanged, offering travelers long stretches of road similar to what they were two centuries ago. The picturesque Kiso Valley in the Japan Alps of southwestern Nagano Prefecture offers some of the most rewarding Nakasendo jaunts.

In the 1700s, provincial lords, samurai retainers, couriers, merchants and other travelers on the Nakasendo could rest at 69 post stations. Although mostly sleepy today, the “road through the central mountains” bustled in places during its heyday.The most prosperous post station was Narai. This Kiso Valley village was responsible for maintaining the thoroughfare and lodging official travelers.