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 (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 the temple-shrine complex of the Mangan-ji and Tōshōsha (now called the

Rinnō-ji is a Tendai Buddhist temple in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi, Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. History The site was established in 766 by the Buddhist monk Shōdō Shōnin (735–817). Due to its geographic isolation, deep in the mountai ...

and Tōshōgū), which are located in the present-day city of

Nikkō is a Cities of Japan, city in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city's population was 80,239, in 36,531 households. The population density was 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Nikkō is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...

, Japan. It was an ancient path that became formalised when power moved to Edo, and was established fully in 1617 by Tokugawa Hidetada, to give safer access to the temple-shrine mausoleum of his father, the first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was buried there that year.Nikkōdō
. Accessed August 15, 2007. With only twenty-one stations, the Nikkō Kaidō was the shortest of the five routes, and it shares seventeen stations with the Ōshū Kaidō. Its route can be traced with Japan's National Route 4 and National Route 119.

Stations of the Nikkō Kaidō

The 21 stations of the Nikkō Kaidō are listed below in order and are divided by their modern-day prefecture. 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) (also part of the Mito Kaidō)

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) :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) :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) Gate-nikko-japan

: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. Tokujirō-shuku (徳次郎宿) (Utsunomiya) :19. Ōzawa-shuku (大沢宿) (

) :20. Imaichi-shuku (今市宿) (Nikkō) (also part of the Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō) :21. Hatsuishi-shuku (鉢石宿) (Nikkō) :Ending Location: Nikkō Shinkyō (bridge) (日光神橋) (Nikkō)

References