287:
20:
32:
350:
358:
555:. This eight-kilometer section of the Nakasendō can still be travelled along comfortably by foot, and both Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku have preserved and restored the traditional architecture. The walk between the historical post towns requires two to three hours to walk, with forests, restored paving and fine views of waterfalls along the way.
149:, 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
298:, many political, legal, cultural and intellectual changes took place. Among them was the rejuvenation of Japan's thousand-year-old highway system. Five roads were formally nominated as official routes for the use of the
341:" ("eastern mountain route"). During the Edo period, the name was changed to Nakasendō and was written as both 中山道 and 中仙道, but the Tokugawa shogunate established 中山道 as the official name in 1716.
509:
Although there has been much modern development along the
Nakasendō, a few stretches remain in its original form. Three sections in Nagano Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture have been accorded
314:
with the communications network that it needed to stabilize and rule the country. One of these five roads was the
Nakasendō, which stretched from
325:
Until the establishment of these formal trade routes, many shorter routes had existed, connecting towns over various distances. For example, the
771:
365:
Although much of the
Nakasendō no longer exists in its historic form, its route is now roughly followed by modern roads. In order, they are:
766:
719:
161:
also walked the
Nakasendo, contributing 46 designs to a series of 69 views of the Nakasendo, which was later completed by Keisai Eisen.
650:
607:
564:
96:
672:
622:
286:
746:
259:
258:(and Takeda's troops with Oda's), a road system was developed. This route is generally followed by the modern day
401:
271:
267:
164:
Many people preferred traveling along the
Nakasendō because it did not require travelers to ford any rivers.
551:
498:
439:
425:
415:
387:
369:
275:
263:
483:
467:
457:
119:
255:
645:
Yama to
Keikoku Publishing (2006). Nakasendō o Aruku (Revised ed.). Osaka: Yama to Keikoku Publishing.
488:
146:
569:
574:
510:
311:
123:
542:
474:
Portions of the following railway lines approximately follow the path of the former
Nakasendō:
104:
19:
716:
668:
646:
603:
579:
546:
409:
395:
391:
337:). Prior to the Edo period, the route had been called both "Sandō" (山道 "mountain route") and "
131:
31:
451:
419:
381:
231:
139:
127:
108:
100:
122:. In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, the Nakasendō runs through the modern-day prefectures of
723:
626:
433:
377:
135:
72:
202:
154:
116:
461:
447:
318:, from where the shogun wielded the real power, through the central mountain ranges of
251:
227:
215:
760:
518:
478:
247:
239:
235:
193:
112:
338:
197:
704:
526:
443:
405:
330:
223:
349:
218:, which lasted from the 15th to 17th centuries, the Tōsandō was controlled by the
740:
619:
538:
534:
530:
522:
334:
219:
188:, the area that would eventually make up the Nakasendō was developed to connect
185:
514:
493:
357:
295:
76:
513:
status by the central government in 1987. These include the section between
429:
158:
306:
300:
688:
243:
196:, which included the former capital of Japan) with the provinces of the
326:
319:
184:
Around the beginning of the seventh century, during the beginning of
168:
167:
In Gunma
Prefecture, the Nakasendō is featured on the 'na' card in
541:. The area was first made famous by the early 20th-century writer
373:
356:
348:
285:
189:
150:
92:
88:
30:
18:
329:
route's eleven post towns all become part of the
Nakasendō (from
315:
84:
142:, with a total distance of about 534 km (332 mi).
353:
A modern-day guidepost for the
Nakasendō near Takamiya-juku
99:(staging-posts) between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through
730:
Higashi Nihon Denshin Denwa. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
16:
One of the five routes of the Edo period (in Japan)
290:Along the Nakasendō between Tsumago and Magome.
51:
64:
45:
8:
633:NEC Corporation. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
254:. In order to connect the Tōsandō with the
700:
698:
533:. The most well-known section lies in the
79:, and one of the two that connected the
71:, was one of the centrally administered
591:
157:, traveled the road. In the late 1830s
707:. WebJapan. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
667:. Arms and Armour Press. p. 31.
641:
639:
7:
549:on the valley in his landmark novel
545:, who chronicled the effects of the
361:Odaki waterfall west of Tsumago-juku
517:and Wada Pass, the section between
14:
511:National Historic Site of Japan
27:(stone paving) on the Nakasendō
600:Images from the Floating World
1:
565:69 Stations of the Nakasendō
767:Edo-period roads and trails
747:Agency for Cultural Affairs
717:Kisoji Shukuba-machi Series
689:"Nakasendo Way - Hiroshige"
602:(1978) Chartwell, Secaucus
537:, between Tsumago-juku and
52:
788:
663:Turnbull, Stephen (1987).
525:, and the section between
294:In the early years of the
772:Stations of the Nakasendō
282:Creation of the Nakasendō
65:
46:
741:
206:) that lie to the east.
705:Japan Atlas: Nakasendo
665:Battles of the Samurai
505:National Historic Site
362:
354:
291:
53:Central Mountain Route
36:
28:
446:(Gifu Prefecture) to
360:
352:
289:
34:
22:
83:capital of Japan at
484:Shin'etsu Main Line
422:(Nagano Prefecture)
412:(Nagano Prefecture)
310:and to provide the
145:Unlike the coastal
722:2007-05-22 at the
625:2007-12-09 at the
470:: Kusatsu to Kyoto
464:(Shiga Prefecture)
402:National Route 142
363:
355:
312:Tokugawa shogunate
292:
58:, also called the
37:
29:
620:Nakasendou Jouhou
547:Meiji Restoration
499:Tōkaidō Main Line
440:National Route 21
426:National Route 19
416:National Route 20
396:Nagano Prefecture
388:National Route 18
370:National Route 17
322:and on to Kyoto.
260:national highways
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751:
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737:
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468:National Route 1
458:National Route 8
452:Shiga Prefecture
382:Gunma Prefecture
232:Shinano Province
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745:(in Japanese).
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724:Wayback Machine
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627:Wayback Machine
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552:Before the Dawn
543:Shimazaki Tōson
507:
434:Gifu Prefecture
418:: Shimosuwa to
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284:
212:
182:
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62:
43:
35:The Five Routes
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12:
11:
5:
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598:Richard Lane,
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489:Chūō Main Line
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472:
471:
465:
455:
437:
428:: Shiojiri to
423:
413:
399:
390:: Takasaki to
385:
346:
343:
304:and the other
283:
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216:Sengoku period
211:
210:Sengoku period
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15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
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728:(in Japanese)
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651:4-635-60037-8
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631:(in Japanese)
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608:0-89009-761-5
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519:Shiojiri-juku
516:
512:
504:
500:
497:
495:
492:
490:
487:
485:
482:
480:
479:Takasaki Line
477:
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475:
469:
466:
463:
460:: Maibara to
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449:
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248:Mino Province
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240:Hida Province
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217:
209:
207:
205:
204:
200:(part of the
199:
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194:Kansai region
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175:Pre-Nakasendō
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98:
95:. There were
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61:
54:
42:
33:
26:
21:
735:
712:
683:
664:
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615:
599:
594:
550:
527:Tsumago-juku
508:
473:
364:
331:Niekawa-juku
324:
305:
299:
293:
224:Kai Province
213:
203:gokishichidō
201:
192:(modern-day
183:
166:
163:
155:Matsuo Bashō
144:
87:(modern-day
80:
59:
40:
38:
24:
580:Nikkō Kaidō
570:Kōshū Kaidō
539:Magome-juku
535:Kiso Valley
531:Magome-juku
523:Midono-juku
335:Magome-juku
214:During the
169:Jomo Karuta
97:69 stations
73:five routes
761:Categories
674:0853688265
586:References
575:Ōshū Kaidō
515:Wada-shuku
494:Taita Line
296:Edo period
77:Edo period
25:ishidatami
610:; pg. 285
410:Shimosuwa
392:Karuizawa
262:numbered
228:Ogasawara
159:Hiroshige
120:provinces
60:Kisokaidō
41:Nakasendō
23:Original
720:Archived
623:Archived
559:See also
420:Shiojiri
378:Takasaki
236:Kanamori
186:Ritsuryō
180:Ritsuryō
81:de facto
462:Kusatsu
448:Maibara
339:Tōsandō
256:Tōkaidō
198:Tōsandō
153:master
147:Tōkaidō
124:Saitama
109:Shinano
101:Musashi
75:of the
671:
649:
606:
444:Mitake
327:Kisoji
320:Honshu
307:daimyō
301:shōgun
274:, and
242:) and
220:Takeda
132:Nagano
105:Kōzuke
374:Tokyo
345:Today
252:clans
190:Kinai
151:haiku
140:Shiga
128:Gunma
93:Kyoto
91:) to
89:Tokyo
669:ISBN
647:ISBN
604:ISBN
529:and
521:and
406:Saku
138:and
136:Gifu
115:and
113:Mino
66:木曾街道
39:The
742:中山道
430:Ena
408:to
376:to
333:to
316:Edo
272:153
268:151
244:Oda
234:),
226:),
171:.
117:Ōmi
85:Edo
47:中山道
763::
726:.
697:^
638:^
629:.
442::
404::
372::
278:.
276:22
270:,
266:,
264:52
250:)
134:,
130:,
126:,
111:,
107:,
103:,
50:,
749:.
691:.
677:.
653:.
454:)
450:(
436:)
432:(
398:)
394:(
384:)
380:(
246:(
238:(
230:(
222:(
69:)
63:(
56:)
44:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
