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The is the popular name for three separate tree-lined sections of roads in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi in the northern
Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...
of
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. These roads are the
Nikkō Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with the temple-shrine complex of the Mangan-ji and Tōshōsha (now called the Rinnō-ji and Tōshōgū), which are located in the present-day ...
,
Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō The was established during the Edo period as a subroute to Nikkō Kaidō. It connects the Nakasendō with the Nikkō Kaidō.Aizu Nishi Kaidō 500px, Ōuchi Pass '' ichirizuka'' The was a pre-modern highway constructed in Edo period Japan. It was built to connect Imaichi, Shimotsuke Province (in modern-day Tochigi Prefecture) with Aizuwakamatsu Castle in modern-day Fukushima Prefect ...
and the 13,000
cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L ...
trees lining a total of of these roads form a monumental approach to the
Shrines and Temples of Nikkō The UNESCO World Heritage Site Shrines and Temples of Nikkō encompasses 103 buildings or structures and the natural setting around them. It is located in Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The buildings belong to two Shinto shrines (Futarasan Shri ...
. Although it is not a single continuous road, the "Cedar Avenue of Nikkō" was listed in the 1996 ''
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as the longest tree-lined avenue in the world.''Guinness Book of World Records'', 1996 edition, p. 51 It is the only cultural property designated by the Japanese Government as both a ''Special Historic Site'' and a ''Special Natural Monument''.


Overview

During the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, the
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
maintained a system of highways across Japan, including the
Edo Five Routes The , sometimes translated as "Five Highways", were the five centrally administered routes, or ''kaidō'', that connected the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (now Tokyo) with the outer provinces during the Edo period (1603–1868). The mos ...
, which connected the Shōgun's capital of Edo with the provinces. These routes were marked wth ''
ichirizuka are historic Japanese distance markers akin to milestones. Comprising a pair of earthen mounds (''tsuka'' or ''zuka'') covered in trees and flanking the road, they denoted the distance in '' ri'' () to Nihonbashi, the "Bridge of Japan", erected ...
'' to indicate distance, and were planted with trees on either side (typically
Japanese red pine ''Pinus densiflora'', also called the Japanese red pine, the Japanese pine, or Korean red pine, is a species of pine tree native to East Asia. Distribution and habitat ''P. densiflora'' has a home range that includes Japan, the Korean Peninsula, ...
or
cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L ...
) to provide shade for travelers. The routes to Nikkō were of especial importance to the Shogunate, as it held the mausoleum and memorial shrines and temples to its founder,
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...
, and his grandson
Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川 家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...
, and was thus a pilgrimage destination for generations of ''Shōgun'' and important ''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
''. The project to plant the approaches to Nikkō with cryptomeria was begun by
Matsudaira Masatsuna The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the m ...
, ''daimyō'' of Tamanawa Domain in
Sagami Province was a province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu, Musashi, and Suruga. It had access to the Paci ...
, and a descendant of a cadet branch of the
Matsudaira clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of th ...
. He began donating and planting seedlings brought from
Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...
around the year 1625. The cedar-lined approaches were officially dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1648, on his 33rd memorial anniversary, and Matsudaira Masatsuna died later the same year. Memorial stone markers were erected in four locations by his son, who continued the project and, together with later donations, it is estimated that some 200,000 trees were planted. During the Edo period, the trees were managed by the ''Nikkō bugyō'' , the magistrate in charge of the Nikkō shrines and temples. After the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
, the trees were endangered by neglect and logging, but an estimated 12,500 trees survive to this day. These 400-year-old trees remained endangered due to continued urban encroachment and due to the exhaust from automobiles, as the former footpaths they line have become modern highways (
Japan National Route 119 is a National highways of Japan, national highway located entirely within Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It connects the city of Nikkō to Utsunomiya, the prefecture's capital, and has a total length of . The present-day highway largely follows th ...
and
Japan National Route 121 is a national highway connecting the city of Yonezawa, Yamagata and the town of Mashiko, Tochigi in Japan. See also * * References External links * 121 121 may refer to: *121 (number), a natural number *AD 121, a year in the 2nd centur ...
).


See also

*
List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments To protect Japan's cultural heritage, the country's government selects through the Agency for Cultural Affairs important items and designates them as Cultural Properties under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Designated items are ...


References


External links


Tochigi Prefectural Home PageSuginamki official home page
Roads in Tochigi Prefecture Natural monuments of Japan Special Historic Sites Tourist attractions in Tochigi Prefecture Nikkō, Tochigi {{tochigi-geo-stub