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The First Tokugawa Shogun
One of Ieyasu’s first decisions of being the first Tokugawa shogun was the designation of the Tokaido as the official highway from the capital, Edo, to the ancient capital, Kyoto. He also designated 53 stations between Nihombashi, Edo and Sanjo Bridge, Kyoto -
Buke Shohatto
The shogunate issues the Buke Shohatto, a code of conduct created to regulate the behavior of daimyo, aristocrats, and religious institutions. An important corollary to these codes is the sankin kotai, or alternate residence. Every daimyo is required to maintain a household in Edo, as well as one in his home region. The Tokaido Road is needed for traveling between a daimyo’s residences. During the time that a daimyo is allowed to return to his own region, he must leave his family in Edo as “host -
Road Extended: Osaka
Road is extended to Osaka. Infrastructure along roads generates much money. The building of villages takes many craftsmen and architects to create. Bridges, ferries, shrines, hotels, and restaurants all generate money and taxes. -
Shinagawa
(1650-1868) Between ten and twenty thousand people (criminals, dissidents, and Christians) were put to death and displayed on the outskirts of Shinagawa to make known what happens to those who live outside the law. -
Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Basho began his journey to northern Honshu, and wrote a travel journal containing his first developed haiku that described his reactions to his experiences on the road. “The wind from Mt. Fuji
I put it on the fan.
Here, the souvenir from Edo.”
