The was one of the five routes of 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 ...

. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture,

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 ...

. It was established by

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 fello ...

for government officials traveling through the area.

Subroutes

In addition to the established use of traveling from Edo to Mutsu Province, there were also many roads that connected from the Ōshū Kaidō. One such sub-route was the

Sendaidō The was a subroute of the Ōshū Kaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes of Japan. It connected the Ōshū Kaidō's terminus in Shirakawa and Mutsu Province with Sendai. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government officials traveling through t ...

(仙台道), which connected Mutsu Province with Sendai. The terminus for the Sendaidō is in Aoba-ku in modern Sendai. From there, the

Matsumaedō The was the continuation of the Ōshū Kaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes of Japan. It connected the Sendaidō's terminus at Sendai Castle with the northern tip of modern-day Aomori Prefecture. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for governmen ...

(松前道) connected Sendai with

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. Though the Ōshū Kaidō has only 27 post stations,Ōshū Kaidō Map
Yumekaidō. Accessed September 4, 2007. there were over 100 designated post stations when the subroutes are included.

Travel

In the early Edo period, travel along the road mostly consisted of magistrates heading towards Edo in order to take part in '' sankin kōtai''. After Hakodate's development, the late Edo period saw travel further increase as a result of increasing trade with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Nowadays, the path of the Ōshū Kaidō and its extensions is followed by National Route 4 from Tokyo to Aomori via Sendai and National Route 280 from Aomori to Minamya.

Stations of the Ōshū Kaidō

The 27 stations of the Ōshū Kaidō are listed below in order and are divided by their modern-day prefecture. The first seventeen stations are shared with 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 ...

. The present day municipality is listed afterwards in parentheses.

Tokyo

:Starting Location: Nihonbashi (日本橋) ( Chūō-ku) :1. Senju-shuku (千住宿) (

Adachi-ku is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It is located to the north of the heart of Tokyo. The ward consists of two separate areas: a small strip of land between the Sumida River and Arakawa River and a larger area north of the A ...

)

Saitama Prefecture

:2. Sōka-shuku (草加宿) (

Sōka is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 249,645 in 118,129 households and a population density of 9100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Situated in the southeast corner of Sa ...

) :3. Koshigaya-shuku (越ヶ谷宿) (

Koshigaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 345,353 in 158,022 households and a population density of 5700 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is famous for producing daruma dolls ...

) :4. Kasukabe-shuku (粕壁宿) ( Kasukabe) :5. Sugito-shuku (杉戸宿) ( Sugito, Kitakatsushika District) :6. Satte-shuku (幸手宿) ( Satte) :7. Kurihashi-shuku (栗橋宿) ( Kuki)

Ibaraki Prefecture

:8. Nakada-shuku (中田宿) (

Koga KOGA is a Dutch bicycle manufacturer based in Heerenveen, Friesland. The company is known for its long time partnership with Japanese frame manufacturer Miyata, producing bicycles and sponsoring racing teams under the brand name Koga Miyata. As ...

) :9. Koga-shuku (古河宿) (Koga)

Tochigi Prefecture

:10. Nogi-shuku (野木宿) ( Nogi, Shimotsuga District) :11. Mamada-shuku (間々田宿) ( Oyama) :12. Oyama-shuku (小山宿) (Oyama) :13. Shinden-shuku (新田宿) (Oyama) :14. Koganei-shuku (小金井宿) ( Shimotsuke) :15. Ishibashi-shuku (石橋宿) (Shimotsuke) :16. Suzumenomiya-shuku (雀宮宿) (

Utsunomiya is the prefectural capital city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 519,223, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its '' gyoza' ...

) :17. Utsunomiya-shuku (宇都宮宿) (Utsunomiya) :18. Shirosawa-shuku (白澤宿) (Utsunomiya) :19. Ujiie-shuku (氏家宿) ( Sakura) :20. Kitsuregawa-shuku (喜連川宿) (Sakura) :21. Sakuyama-shuku (佐久山宿) (

Ōtawara 270px, View from the ruins of Ōtawara Castle is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 72,189 in 30,136 households, and a population density of 210 persons per km2. The total area of the city is ...

) :*Yagisawa-shuku (八木沢宿) (Ōtawara) ('' ai no shuku'') :22. Ōtawara-shuku (大田原宿) (Ōtawara) :23. Nabekake-shuku (鍋掛宿) (

Nasushiobara 270px, Shiobara Onsen is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 115,794 in 48,437 households, and a population density of 67 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Nasushioba ...

) :24. Koebori-shuku (越堀宿) (Nasushiobara) :*Terago-shuku (寺子宿) (Nasushiobara) (''ai no shuku'') :25. Ashino-shuku (芦野宿) ( Nasu, Nasu District) :*Tani-shuku (谷宿) (Nasu, Nasu District) (''ai no shuku'') :*Yorii-shuku (寄居宿) (Nasu, Nasu District) (''ai no shuku'')

Fukushima Prefecture

:26. Shirosaka-shuku (白坂宿) ( Shirakawa) :27. Shirakawa-shuku (白川宿) (Shirakawa) :Ending Location:

Shirakawa Castle is a Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Shirakawa, southern Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the middle to later Edo period, Komine Castle was home to the Abe clan, ''daimyō'' of Shirakawa Domain. It was also referred to ...

(白河城) (Shirakawa)

References

External links

Ōshū Kaidō Travel Journal
dead link] {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshu Kaido Road transport in Japan 17th-century establishments in Japan Japan-related lists