Post by washi on Mar 11, 2023 7:04:00 GMT
Edo Period Roads
江戸時代の道路
(As nearly as I can determine, the KMZ file offered here for download has never been available as a separate post. It was probably attached as a supplementary file to another post.)
This map is adapted from a map copyrighted by Geospatial Information Authority of Japan called 伊勢街道案内図 (Ise Kaidō Annaizu : Ise Highroad Guide Map) and published in 伊勢参宮本街道行程図 (Ise Sangū Hon Kaidō Kōteizu : Ise Main Highroad Map), published by Tamatsukuri Shrine.
I was unable to contact the copyright owners of that map to request permission to use it, so I created my own version, following the original as closely as I could. Unfortunately, it is very imprecise, useful only for seeing the general locations of the roads. Actual locations may be off as much as several kilometers.
Accommodations for travelers seem to have been located at various places along the road sides. Inns that provided overnight shelter were mostly concentrated near or at road junctions, and (in the case of the Tōkaidō road and its extension) near official post stations. These towns and villages were called "yado," and when its kanji (宿) was used as a suffix after a place name it was pronounced "juku. As far as I can tell, these business were free to establish themselves anywhere it was practical to do so, as must have been the case with some of the more remote mountainous roads. From what I can surmise from my reading, teahouses that could also offer a light meal were frequently found some distance from populated areas.
Not every important Edo Period road is shown on the map. I suppose the makers of the map on which my map is based chose to show the roads which they did, based on historical knowledge of Edo Period travel which I lack. These roads were and are known by various names. I have for the most part used the names applied by the authors of the map I copied.
To use this map, click on a road, and a balloon will open to show a brief description.
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