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In all of his travels, Koshôken also displays considerable skepticism regarding local legends, something rather uncharacteristic of travelogues and travel guides of the Edo period. He was also dismissive of religious orders, and while not critical of the shogunate, could at times be quite harsh towards local daimyô. After being pushed to the side of the road by the procession of the lord of Sendai on one occasion, he later wrote of the considerable moral weakness of [[Sendai han]]; similarly, he wrote that the manners and customs of the common people were determined by whether their lord was good or bad, and criticized the lords of [[Akita han]] for imposing too heavy a tax burden.

In all of his travels, Koshôken also displays considerable skepticism regarding local legends, something rather uncharacteristic of travelogues and travel guides of the Edo period. He was also dismissive of religious orders, and while not critical of the shogunate, could at times be quite harsh towards local daimyô. After being pushed to the side of the road by the procession of the lord of Sendai on one occasion, he later wrote of the considerable moral weakness of [[Sendai han]]; similarly, he wrote that the manners and customs of the common people were determined by whether their lord was good or bad, and criticized the lords of [[Akita han]] for imposing too heavy a tax burden.

Koshôken's second major journey took place in [[1787]]-[[1788]], when his Edo-based mentor Nagakubo Sekisui recommended him to the shogunate, and he was invited to accompany a shogunal inspection tour of Tôhoku and [[Ezo]], led by ''[[hatamoto]]'' [[Fujisawa Sukenaga]]. Koshôken documented the journey in a text titled ''Tôyû zakki'', or "Various Records of a Journey to the East," the title complementing that of his Kyûshû diary. The party totalled 107 men, and Koshôken writes that conditions were difficult in various respects, and travel restricted, e.g. often to specific roads. Though commenting with interest on geography, placenames, and history or legends associated with given places, he complained about the incomprehensibility of regional dialects, of the many inaccuracies of the descriptions and maps in [[Hayashi Shihei]]'s ''[[Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu|Sangoku Tsûran Zusetsu]]'', and of various aspects of the journey besides. It is said that Koshôken's criticisms in his report to ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' [[Matsudaira Sadanobu]] may have been a key factor leading to Shihei's house arrest in [[1792]] and the destruction by the authorities of the printing blocks for ''Sangoku Tsûran Zusetsu'' and another of Shihei's works.

Koshôken's second major journey took place in [[1787]]-[[1788]], when his Edo-based mentor Nagakubo Sekisui recommended him to the shogunate, and he was invited to accompany a shogunal inspection tour of Tôhoku and [[Ezo]], led by ''[[hatamoto]]'' [[Fujisawa Sukenaga]]. Koshôken documented the journey in a text titled ''Tôyû zakki'', or "Various Records of a Journey to the East," the title complementing that of his Kyûshû diary. The party totalled 107 men, and Koshôken writes that conditions were difficult in various respects, and travel restricted, e.g. often to specific roads. Though commenting with interest on geography, placenames, and history or legends associated with given places, he complained about the incomprehensibility of regional dialects, of the many inaccuracies of the descriptions and maps in [[Hayashi Shihei|Hayashi Shihei's]] ''[[Sangoku tsuran zusetsu|Sangoku Tsûran Zusetsu]]'', and of various aspects of the journey besides. It is said that Koshôken's criticisms in his report to ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' [[Matsudaira Sadanobu]] may have been a key factor leading to Shihei's house arrest in [[1792]] and the destruction by the authorities of the printing blocks for ''Sangoku Tsûran Zusetsu'' and another of Shihei's works.

As for his own writings, unlike many other prominent scholar travelers of his time, Koshôken is said to have never written with the intention of publishing his works for a popular audience; he did, however, share his writing with Sadanobu and others.

As for his own writings, unlike many other prominent scholar travelers of his time, Koshôken is said to have never written with the intention of publishing his works for a popular audience; he did, however, share his writing with Sadanobu and others.