The is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. Saikaido was one of the main
circuits of the
Gokishichidō
was the name for ancient administrative units organized in Japan during the Asuka period (AD 538–710), as part of a legal and governmental system borrowed from the Chinese. Though these units did not survive as administrative structures beyon ...
system, which was originally established during the
Asuka period
The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...
.
This name identified the geographic region of
Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...
and the islands of
Tsushima and
Iki. It consisted of nine
ancient provinces and two islands.
[Compare Nankaidō, which includes all of ]Shikoku
is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...
, is the "southern sea circuit" and Tōkaidō is the "eastern sea circuit", made famous by the wood-block prints of Hokusai
, known mononymously as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'' includes the iconic print ''The Gr ...
and Hiroshige
or , born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format landscape series '' The Fifty-three Stations ...
. The provinces included
Chikuzen,
Chikugo,
Buzen,
Bungo,
Hizen,
Higo,
Hyūga,
Satsuma and
Ōsumi.
See also
*
Notes
References
*
Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''Cambridge:
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou.
The pres ...
.
OCLC 58053128
Road transport in Japan
Saikaido
{{Japan-road-stub