Gokaidō and the post stations (shukuba) of Edo Japan
Gokaidō y las estaciones de posta (shukuba) del Edo
- Date
- 1601 · confidence high
- Place
- Nihonbashi, Edo (Tokyo), Japan
- Credited to
- Tokugawa shogunate (Tokugawa Ieyasu)
- Field
- Movement
What it is
A system of five state highways from Nihonbashi (Tōkaidō, Nakasendō, Kōshū, Ōshū and Nikkō Kaidō) with post stations, relay horses, couriers and control checkpoints. The 1601 decree on the Tōkaidō, with its 53 stations, was the first step.
The 1601 decree covered only the Tōkaidō; the full set of five roads was completed up to 1624. Japan already had post stations (ekisei) from the 7th century, which the Edo system reorganised.
What it led to
- regular journeys of the lords' alternate attendance (sankin-kōtai)
- an economy of inns, trade and pilgrimage in the Edo era
- the basis of Japan's modern routes and railway network