contributor
523
edits
Changes
no edit summary
Highways
==General==
==Routes==
The routes of the highways changed little-by-little over time, often by improvements to get around natural barriars. Most of the highways below are still in use and are commonly called by their old names. One normally talks about "Kôshû Kaidô" rather than NR (national route) 20, for instance. The modern expressway network does not follow the old routes, however.
The following route descriptions are not meant to be detailed or to strictly follow Edo-period or earlier routes, but to allow someone with a modern map see how the roads went and what the major barriers were. The indication of the expressways is just to give the reader a general orientation, as those are usually easy to find on maps.
===(The "Five Highways")===
The following Five Highways 五街道 of the[[ Edo Period]] started at [[Nihon Bashi]] in [[Edo]] (modern Tokyo). Before the Edo Period, the starting (or ending point) was not so clear, but at least was in the [[Kanto|Kantô Plain]].
===[[Tokaido|Tôkaidô Highway]]東海道===
(NR1) From Edo to Kyoto, mostly along the Pacific coast
===[[Nakasendo|Nakasendô Highway]]中山道===
(From Lake Suwa on, Chûô Expressway) From Edo to Kyoto through the interior. Major points are Takasaki (NW of Edo), Usui Pass, Lake Suwa, the Kiso River valley, and Sekigahara Pass.
=== (Tôkaidô and Nakasendô compared)===
===[[Oshukaido|Ôshûkaidô Highway]]奥州街道===
(Tohoku東北 Expressway; NR 4) From Edo to Shirakawa白河, in the northern province of [[Mutsu province|Mutsu]]
===[[Nikko Kaido|Nikkô Kaidô]]日光街道===
(NR4, NR 119) From Edo to Nikkô, where [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] was enshrined. This separated from the Ôshû kaidô in Utsunomiya 宇都宮
Stages were: Utsunomiya, Shimo-, Naka- and Kami-Tokujira (徳次郎), Ôzawa, Imaichi, Hatsuishi（鉢石), Nikkô 坊中bôchû
(It was also known as Nikkô Dôchû 日光道中)
===[[Koshu Kaido|Kôshû Kaidô]]甲州街道===
(Chûô 中央Expressway; NR 20) From Edo to Lake Suwa諏訪湖, where it joined the Nakasendô, passing through [[Kai province]], which was also called Kôshu.
===(Highways Linking the [[Kantô plain]] and [[Echigo province]])===
===[[Hokkoku Kaido]]北国街道===
(Jôshinetsu 上信越[ [[Kozuke province|Kôzuke]]-[[Shinano province|Shinano]]-Echigo] Expressway from Saku佐久 to Jôetsu上越; NR 18)
===[[Mikuni Kaido]]三国街道===
(Kanetsu 関越 [Kantô Plain-Echigo] Expressway; local Rd 36 and NR 17) Using Mikuni Pass
===[[Shimizu Kaido]] 清水街道===
(Kanetsu 関越 [Kantô Plain-Echigo] Expressway;NR 291) Using Shimizu Pass
===(Others)===
===[[Hokurikudo|Hokurikudô]]北陸道===
(Meishin名神 [Nagoya-Kôbe] Expressway, Hokuriku北陸 Expressway; NR8) From Kyoto to [[Etchu province|Etchû province]], then north along the Japan Sea coast
==References==
*''[[Kojien Dictionary|Kôjien Dictionary]]''
*''Super Mapple Road Map of Kanto'' (Shobun-sha, 1999)
==General==
==Routes==
The routes of the highways changed little-by-little over time, often by improvements to get around natural barriars. Most of the highways below are still in use and are commonly called by their old names. One normally talks about "Kôshû Kaidô" rather than NR (national route) 20, for instance. The modern expressway network does not follow the old routes, however.
The following route descriptions are not meant to be detailed or to strictly follow Edo-period or earlier routes, but to allow someone with a modern map see how the roads went and what the major barriers were. The indication of the expressways is just to give the reader a general orientation, as those are usually easy to find on maps.
===(The "Five Highways")===
The following Five Highways 五街道 of the[[ Edo Period]] started at [[Nihon Bashi]] in [[Edo]] (modern Tokyo). Before the Edo Period, the starting (or ending point) was not so clear, but at least was in the [[Kanto|Kantô Plain]].
===[[Tokaido|Tôkaidô Highway]]東海道===
(NR1) From Edo to Kyoto, mostly along the Pacific coast
===[[Nakasendo|Nakasendô Highway]]中山道===
(From Lake Suwa on, Chûô Expressway) From Edo to Kyoto through the interior. Major points are Takasaki (NW of Edo), Usui Pass, Lake Suwa, the Kiso River valley, and Sekigahara Pass.
=== (Tôkaidô and Nakasendô compared)===
===[[Oshukaido|Ôshûkaidô Highway]]奥州街道===
(Tohoku東北 Expressway; NR 4) From Edo to Shirakawa白河, in the northern province of [[Mutsu province|Mutsu]]
===[[Nikko Kaido|Nikkô Kaidô]]日光街道===
(NR4, NR 119) From Edo to Nikkô, where [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] was enshrined. This separated from the Ôshû kaidô in Utsunomiya 宇都宮
Stages were: Utsunomiya, Shimo-, Naka- and Kami-Tokujira (徳次郎), Ôzawa, Imaichi, Hatsuishi（鉢石), Nikkô 坊中bôchû
(It was also known as Nikkô Dôchû 日光道中)
===[[Koshu Kaido|Kôshû Kaidô]]甲州街道===
(Chûô 中央Expressway; NR 20) From Edo to Lake Suwa諏訪湖, where it joined the Nakasendô, passing through [[Kai province]], which was also called Kôshu.
===(Highways Linking the [[Kantô plain]] and [[Echigo province]])===
===[[Hokkoku Kaido]]北国街道===
(Jôshinetsu 上信越[ [[Kozuke province|Kôzuke]]-[[Shinano province|Shinano]]-Echigo] Expressway from Saku佐久 to Jôetsu上越; NR 18)
===[[Mikuni Kaido]]三国街道===
(Kanetsu 関越 [Kantô Plain-Echigo] Expressway; local Rd 36 and NR 17) Using Mikuni Pass
===[[Shimizu Kaido]] 清水街道===
(Kanetsu 関越 [Kantô Plain-Echigo] Expressway;NR 291) Using Shimizu Pass
===(Others)===
===[[Hokurikudo|Hokurikudô]]北陸道===
(Meishin名神 [Nagoya-Kôbe] Expressway, Hokuriku北陸 Expressway; NR8) From Kyoto to [[Etchu province|Etchû province]], then north along the Japan Sea coast
==References==
*''[[Kojien Dictionary|Kôjien Dictionary]]''
*''Super Mapple Road Map of Kanto'' (Shobun-sha, 1999)