The was one of the centrally administered five routes of the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. It was built to connect the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

(modern-day

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

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

Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It was established by

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

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 (仙台道), which connected Mutsu Province with

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

. The terminus for the Sendaidō is in Aoba-ku in modern Sendai. From there, the Matsumaedō (松前道) connected Sendai with

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan 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 railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

. 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 country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. 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 centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with the temple-shrine complex of the Mangan-ji and Tōshōsha (now cal ...

. The present day municipality is listed afterwards in parentheses.

Tokyo

:Starting Location:

Nihonbashi is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, which sprung up around the bridge of the same name that has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The curre ...

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

Adachi-ku is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in 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 (K ...

)

Saitama Prefecture

:2. Sōka-shuku (草加宿) (

Sōka is a Cities of Japan, 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 Sōka is situated in ...

) :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 may refer to: Places Japan * Koga, Ibaraki (古河) * Koga, Fukuoka (古賀) * Koga Domain Elsewhere * Koga, a town in Tanzania * Koga (crater) on Mars Other uses * Koga (surname) * Kōga-ryū, a school of ninjutsu * Koga clan, Jap ...

) :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 capital and largest city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 513,584, 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 The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

) :20. Kitsuregawa-shuku (喜連川宿) (Sakura) :21. Sakuyama-shuku (佐久山宿) (

Ōtawara is a Cities of Japan, 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 . The city's name may also b ...

) :*Yagisawa-shuku (八木沢宿) (Ōtawara) (''

ai no shuku were unofficial post stations along historical routes in Japan. These post stations formed organically along routes (such as the Tōkaidō and the Nakasendō) when the distance between two places was too far or when there were difficult passes ...

'') :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 (白河宿) (Shirakawa) :Ending Location: Shirakawa Castle (白河城) (Shirakawa)

References

External links

Ōshū Kaidō Travel Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshu Kaido Road transport in Japan 17th-century establishments in Japan