Kaido
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TokaidoHakone.jpg
A kaidō (Japanese 街道 "road" or -海道 "sea road" used as a suffix) is an ancient road in Japan. Major examples include the Nankaido, Saikaido, Sanyodo, Sanindo, Hokuriku Kaido, Nakasendo, Tokaido, Oshu Kaido, Nikko Kaido and the newer Hokkaido. Many highways and railway lines in modern Japan follow the ancient routes and carry the same names. Additionally, several of the names are still in use as regions of the country. The early roads radiated from the capital at Nara or Kyoto. Later, Edo was the reference, and even today Japan reckons directions and measures distances along its highways from Nihonbashi in Chuo-ku, Tokyo.
At various times, governments established posts or stations along the roads. These had lodgings for travelers, and grew as commercial centers. The post towns, along with castle and harbor towns, form a major category of cities in Japan.
The kaido figure prominently in Japanese culture. The poet Matsuo Basho memorialized his travels along the Oshu Kaido (and elsewhere) in the book Oku no Hosomichi. A set of woodblock prints by Hiroshige forms a travelogue of the Tokaido. The Bunraku play Kanadehon Chushingura, the fictionalized account of the true story of the Forty-seven Ronin, has several scenes set along various kaido. Daimyo, making the required sankin kotai trip between their han and Edo, traveled along the kaido, staying at the stations. Woodblock prints show their stately processions.