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Fifty-three barriers were maintained along the ''Gokaidô'', the five main [[highways]] emanating from [[Nihonbashi]] in [[Edo]]. Though a powerful presence within the phenomenon of travel in the Edo period, and of conceptions of space and of famous locations (''[[meisho]]''), it has been argued that the chief purpose of the barriers, in terms of official [[Tokugawa shogunate|shogunate]] intentions, was to help enforce the ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' ("alternate attendance") system, by keeping guns out and women in, a notion often referred to by the Japanese phrase ''iri-deppô ni de-onna''. That the wives and daughters of ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]'' were required to stay in Edo, essentially as hostages, was a crucial element of the shogunate's systems for keeping the ''daimyô'' from rising up against the shogunate. Preventing ''daimyô'' or other actors from transporting weapons into the city served a logical purpose as well within this scheme. That this was seen as the primary purpose of the ''sekisho'' is indicated by the fact that the ''sekisho'' system was dismantled simultaneously with that of the ''sankin kôtai'' system, in the mid-19th century.

Fifty-three barriers were maintained along the ''Gokaidô'', the five main [[highways]] emanating from [[Nihonbashi]] in [[Edo]]. Though a powerful presence within the phenomenon of travel in the Edo period, and of conceptions of space and of famous locations (''[[meisho]]''), it has been argued that the chief purpose of the barriers, in terms of official [[Tokugawa shogunate|shogunate]] intentions, was to help enforce the ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' ("alternate attendance") system, by keeping guns out and women in, a notion often referred to by the Japanese phrase ''iri-deppô ni de-onna''. That the wives and daughters of ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]'' were required to stay in Edo, essentially as hostages, was a crucial element of the shogunate's systems for keeping the ''daimyô'' from rising up against the shogunate. Preventing ''daimyô'' or other actors from transporting weapons into the city served a logical purpose as well within this scheme. That this was seen as the primary purpose of the ''sekisho'' is indicated by the fact that the ''sekisho'' system was dismantled simultaneously with that of the ''sankin kôtai'' system, in the mid-19th century.

Some of these barriers were those already existing before the establishment of the shogunate, but most were built during the reign of Shogun [[Tokugawa Hidetada]] (r. [[1605]]-[[1623]]), with the last of the 53 ''sekisho'' being established in [[1686]]. Many were newly constructed where no formal barrier checkpoint had existed before, but some were built as expansions or reconfigurations of barriers built by local/regional warlords. The only such checkpoint to survive today with some of its Edo period buildings intact is that at [[Arai sekisho|Arai]] (also known as Imagiri or Imagire), in what is today Kosai City, Shizuoka.

Some of these barriers were those already existing before the establishment of the shogunate, but most were built during the reign of Shogun [[Tokugawa Hidetada]] (r. [[1605]]-[[1623]]), with the last of the 53 ''sekisho'' being established in [[1686]]. Many were newly constructed where no formal barrier checkpoint had existed before, but some were built as expansions or reconfigurations of barriers built by local/regional warlords. The only such checkpoint to survive today with some of its Edo period buildings intact is that at [[Arai sekisho|Arai]], in what is today Kosai City, Shizuoka.

A system of passes, or passports, was put into place to regulate who was permitted to pass through the barriers. Identification papers took mainly two forms: official travel authorizations issued by shogunate officials or domainal authorities were known as ''sekisho tegata'', or simply ''tegata'',<ref>Craig, Teruko (trans.). ''Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai''. University of Arizona Press, 1988. p160.</ref>, while shrines, temples, inns, and the like issued documents known as ''ôrai kitte'' (lit. "round trip ticket") or ''ôrai tegata'', unofficially declaring that the holder was bound for that shrine or temple (as a pilgrim), or that inn, as their destination. There does not appear to have been any law regulating the issuing of such ''ôrai tegata'' to commoners, but samurai generally required official orders or permission from a superior in order to travel.<ref>Arne Kalland, ''Fishing Villages in Tokugawa Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (1995), 29.; Constantine Vaporis, "Documentation for Travel," ''Voices of Early Modern Japan'', Westview Press (2012), 170-171.</ref> A late 18th century traveler, [[Sugae Masumi]], describes these passes as including descriptions of the identity of the traveler, his origin and destination, his clothing and whether or not he carried a short sword; there was generally a fee to pass each barrier, and one's pass was marked to indicate that one had been checked at the checkpoint.<ref>Bolitho. p494.</ref> The requirement of possessing a pass was more strongly enforced moving away from Edo, rather than when one was traveling towards Edo, and regulations in general were stricter for women than for men. At twenty of the 53 stations, non-local women were not permitted to pass at all. Due to these restrictions, traveling parties that included women often took side-roads, which thus came to be known as ''onna-michi'' ("women's roads").<ref>[[Constantine Vaporis]], "Linking the Realm: The Gokaidô Highway Network in Early Modern Japan," in Susan Alcock et al (eds.) ''Highways Byways and Road Systems in the Pre-Modern World'', Wiley-Blackwell (2012), 98.</ref>

A system of passes, or passports, was put into place to regulate who was permitted to pass through the barriers. Identification papers took mainly two forms: official travel authorizations issued by shogunate officials or domainal authorities were known as ''sekisho tegata'', or simply ''tegata'',<ref>Craig, Teruko (trans.). ''Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai''. University of Arizona Press, 1988. p160.</ref>, while shrines, temples, inns, and the like issued documents known as ''ôrai kitte'' (lit. "round trip ticket") or ''ôrai tegata'', unofficially declaring that the holder was bound for that shrine or temple (as a pilgrim), or that inn, as their destination. There does not appear to have been any law regulating the issuing of such ''ôrai tegata'' to commoners, but samurai generally required official orders or permission from a superior in order to travel.<ref>Arne Kalland, ''Fishing Villages in Tokugawa Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (1995), 29.; Constantine Vaporis, "Documentation for Travel," ''Voices of Early Modern Japan'', Westview Press (2012), 170-171.</ref> A late 18th century traveler, [[Sugae Masumi]], describes these passes as including descriptions of the identity of the traveler, his origin and destination, his clothing and whether or not he carried a short sword; there was generally a fee to pass each barrier, and one's pass was marked to indicate that one had been checked at the checkpoint.<ref>Bolitho. p494.</ref> The requirement of possessing a pass was more strongly enforced moving away from Edo, rather than when one was traveling towards Edo, and regulations in general were stricter for women than for men. At twenty of the 53 stations, non-local women were not permitted to pass at all. Due to these restrictions, traveling parties that included women often took side-roads, which thus came to be known as ''onna-michi'' ("women's roads").<ref>[[Constantine Vaporis]], "Linking the Realm: The Gokaidô Highway Network in Early Modern Japan," in Susan Alcock et al (eds.) ''Highways Byways and Road Systems in the Pre-Modern World'', Wiley-Blackwell (2012), 98.</ref>