The were the five major roads (kaidō

Kaido

were ancient roads in Japan dating from the Edo period. Major examples include the Edo Five Routes, all of which started at Edo...

) that started at Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

 (now Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

) during the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, the most important of which was the Tōkaidō

Tokaido (road)

The ' was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo to Kyoto in Japan. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name....

, which linked Edo and Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

. Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 started the construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 of these five routes in order to increase his control over the country in 1601, but it was Tokugawa Ietsuna

Tokugawa Ietsuna

was the fourth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, thus making him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.-Early Life :...

, the 4th shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

 of the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 and Ieyasu's great-grandson, who declared them as major routes. Post stations

Shukuba

were post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shukueki . These post stations were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation...

 were set up along the route for travelers to rest and buy supplies.

The Five Routes

Each of the routes started at Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi

, or Nihombashi, is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603, and the current bridge made of stone dates from 1911...

 in Edo. From that point, each road linked the capital with other parts of the country.
Tōkaidō

Tokaido (road)

The ' was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo to Kyoto in Japan. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name....

The Tōkaidō had 53 stations

53 Stations of the Tokaido

The are the rest areas along the Tōkaidō, which was a coastal route that ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto.-Stations of the Tōkaidō:...

 and ran along the Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 coast, connecting with Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

. Once it reached Kusatsu-juku

Kusatsu-juku

was the fifty-second of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō as well as the sixty-eighth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the downtown area of the present-day city of Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan.-History:...

, it shared its route with the Nakasendō.

Nakasendō

Nakasendo

The , also called the , was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces...

The Nakasendō (also often called the Kisokaidō) had 69 stations

69 Stations of the Nakasendo

The are the rest areas along the Nakasendō, which ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō Ōhashi in Kyoto. The route stretched approximately and was an alternate trade route to the Tōkaidō.-Stations of the Nakasendō:...

 and ran through the center of Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

, connecting with Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

. The Nakasendō's Shimosuwa-shuku

Shimosuwa-shuku

was the twenty-ninth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō, as well as being the ending location of the Kōshū Kaidō. It is located in the present-day town of Shimosuwa, Suwa District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.-History:...

 served as the end point for the Kōshū Kaidō. Also, the Nakasendō merged with the Tōkaidō at Kusatsu-juku.

Kōshū Kaidō

Koshu Kaido

The was one of the five routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo with Kai Province in modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The route continues from there to connect with the Nakasendō's Shimosuwa-shuku in Nagano Prefecture...

The Kōshū Kaidō had 44 stations, connecting with Kai Province

Kai Province

, also known as , is an old province in Japan in the area of Yamanashi Prefecture. It lies in central Honshū, west of Tokyo, in a landlocked mountainous region that includes Mount Fuji along its border with Shizuoka Prefecture....

 (Yamanashi Prefecture

Yamanashi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Kōfu.-Pre-history to the 14th century:People have been living in the Yamanashi area for about 30,000 years...

), before ending at the Nakasendō's Shimosuwa-shuku

Shimosuwa-shuku

was the twenty-ninth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō, as well as being the ending location of the Kōshū Kaidō. It is located in the present-day town of Shimosuwa, Suwa District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.-History:...

.

Ōshū Kaidō

Oshu Kaido

The was one of the five routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan...

The Ōshū Kaidō had 27 stations, connecting with Mutsu Province

Mutsu Province

was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...

 (Fukushima Prefecture

Fukushima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....

). There were subroutes that connected to other places of northern Japan, too.

Nikkō Kaidō

Nikko Kaido

The was one of the five routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo with the Nikkō Tōshō-gū, which is located in the present-day city of Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 1617 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, in order for him to have a smoother route to the shrine...

The Nikkō Kaidō had 21 stations, connecting with Nikkō Tōshō-gū

Nikko Tosho-gu

is a Shinto shrine located in Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the "Shrines and Temples of Nikkō", a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Tōshō-gū is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Initially built in 1617, during the Edo period, while Ieyasu's son Hidetada...

 in modern-day Tochigi Prefecture

Tochigi Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture...

.

Other routes

In addition to the five routes, there were minor routes that were either branches of or alternates to the main routes, or infrequently used routes. Some of the routes were referred to as hime kaidō

Hime kaido

was the name given to minor routes that created detours around the difficult crossings of main routes during the Edo period in Japan...

, as they were alternate paths for main trade routes, but none were officially called that.

Chichibu Ōkan Hokkoku Kaidō Hokkoku Kaido The was a highway in Japan during the Edo period. It was a secondary route, ranked below the Edo Five Routes in importance. Because it was developed for travelers going to Zenkō-ji, it was also called Zenkō-ji Kaidō . It stretched from the Nakasendō's Oiwake-juku to the Hokurikudō's Takada-shuku... Hokurikudō Hokurikudo is a Japanese term denoting both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through the old Japanese geographical region. Both were situated along the northwestern edge of Honshū. The name literally means 'North Land Way'... Kawagoe Kaidō Kawagoe Kodama Kaidō Kamakura Kaidō Kamakura Kaido is the generic name of a great number of roads built during the Kamakura period which, from all directions, converged on the military capital of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The term itself however was created probably during the Edo Period to mean simply any old road going to Kamakura; it... Kōya Kaidō Kyōkaidō

Matsumaedō Matsumaedo The was a subroute of the Ōshū Kaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes of the 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 government officials traveling through the area... Mikuni Kaidō Mikuni Kaido was an ancient highway in Japan that stretched from Takasaki-juku on the Nakasendō to Teradomari-juku on the Hokuriku Kaidō.-History:... Minoji Minoji The was a highway in Japan during the Edo period. It was a secondary route, ranked below the Edo Five Routes in importance, and connected Miya-juku on the Tōkaidō with Tarui-juku on the Nakasendō.... Mito Kaidō Mito Kaido was an old kaidō in Japan and a subroute to the Edo Five Routes. It was built to connect Edo with Mito in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture. Travelers from Edo called it Mito Kaidō, but travelers from Mito called it Edo Kaidō. The kaidō's path is traced by the modern National Route 6.-Tokyo:-Chiba... Nagasaki Kaidō Nagasaki Kaido The was a road across Kyūshū from Kokura to Nagasaki, used by daimyo for the sankin kotai, and also by the Dutch traders at Nagasaki on whom a similar obligation of visiting the Shogun was imposed... Nikkō Onari Kaidō Nikko Onari Kaido was established during the Edo period as a subroute to Nikkō Kaidō. It was built for the shogun to use as he traveled to Nikkō Tōshō-gū. It is also referred to as the Nikkō Onarimichi and the Iwatsuki Kaidō.-Stations of the Nikkō Onari Kaidō:... Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō Nikko Reiheishi Kaido The was established during the Edo period as a subroute to Nikkō Kaidō. It connects the Nakasendō with the Nikkō Kaidō.-Stations of the Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō:... Nikkō Wakiōkan Nikko Wakiokan was established during the Edo period as a subroute to connect Hachiōji with Nikkō. The route stretches approximately and, at various points, is called the Nikkōdō...

Ōyama Kaidō Saigoku Kaidō Sendaidō Sendaido 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 the area.... Shio no Michi Shio no Michi was an old kaidō in ancient Japan and was used to transport salt from the ocean to the inland portions of central Honshū. In the Middle Ages, salt was brough both from the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean to Shinano Province for processing... Tōgane Onari Kaidō Tosa Kaidō Tosa Kaido The was an ancient trade route in Japan that is now mirrored by the modern National Route 33. It was first established during the Yamato period, was then developed into an official highway during the Meiji period, before being renamed the Prefectural Matsuyama-Kōchi Highway... Ushū Kaidō Ushu Kaido The was a subroute of the Ōshū Kaidō and the Sendaidō in Japan. It breaks off from the Sendaidō at Kōri-juku in the modern-day Kōri in Fukushima Prefecture. It connects to Aburakawa-juku along Matsumaedō, the other subroute of the Ōshū Kaidō. It is traced by National Routes 13 and 7... Yamato no Kodō