The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō

Introduction

It ran more or less along the coast (in part the Pacific, in part the Inland Sea) from Tokyo to Nagoya, along a path which contains some of the most beautiful scenery in Japan, including spots where mountains suddenly meet the sea. It then ran across the mountains, and around the southern end of Lake Biwa, to Kyōto.

Fifty-three stations (not counting the two termini), which became post-towns (shuku-eki) over time, were established along it; they consisted of horse and porter stations, along with a range of lodging, food, etc, establishments for the use of travellers. The horses were mainly for use by official messengers, but weary travellers could also hire horses, or kago (palanquins).

Checkpoints called seki were set up by the Tokugawa government, where guards stood watch, and turned back those who did not have the appropriate passes. Within Edo itself, each section of the city (machi) was closed off by wooden gates called kido, which were closed every night, and re-opened early in the morning. A traveller wishing to start the first stage, at the Nihon-bashi (literally "Japan Bridge") in the heart of Edo would have to wait until the kido at the bridge was opened.

Additional barriers to travel were the larger rivers, which were generally unbridged (in part as a deliberate measure of the government, to slow down the movement of any large rebellious army, should one be formed). When the river was flowing, travellers had to cross in boats, or be carried in kago, or on the back of a porter. After a heavy rain, crossings might be halted for several days, forcing all to wait for the waters to subside.

Another place where water could cause delays were at the two places where travellers normally took boats: at the stage from Maisaka to Arai, where a boat ride avoided a lengthy detour inland around Lake Hamana (a large brackish lake open to the ocean), and at the stage from Miya to Kuwana, where the road was cut off by the sea. Bad weather at either could also hold up travellers until the boatmen were prepared to venture out.

Most travelers covered the roughly five hundred kilometers on foot, usually travelling several stages per day, although travellers might spend several days at a station, if they were so inclined. The journey normally took about two weeks; a trip of only a week or so was possible if the traveller hurried, but bad weather could easily stretch it to a month.

Among the travellers on the Tōkaidō were the processions of the great daimyō, who were mandated to spend every other year at the Shōgun's court (to prevent them from organizing rebellions), and travelled back and forth in huge processions numbering hundreds of people.

Path

This map:

shows the path of the Tōkaidō, and the location of each station. The stations are numbered starting from the Tokyo end, and the numbering conventionally includes the start and termination as well as the stations; for this reason, most print series showing the stages of the Tōkaidō actually include 55 images.

(The other road shown is the Kisokaidō, named after the Kiso river, which it follows for part of its path.)

• The Kisokaidō (officially named the Nakasendō), which followed an inland route from Edo to Kyōto, meeting the Tōkaidō at Kusatsu, and had sixty-nine stations.
• The Koshu-kaidō, which left Edo and looped around Mt. Fuji to meet the Kisokaidō.
• The Ōshu-kaidō, which led from Edo to Aomori, a major town and harbour at the very Northern tip of Honshu, the main island of Japan.
• The Nikkō-kaidō, a branch off the Ōshu-kaidō, which led to Nikko, a town about 120 kilometers North of Edo in the central highlands, where the Tokugawa established a major religious site.
• The Hokurikuoō, another branch off the Ōshu-kaidō, which led to Niigata, a major city on the West coast of Japan, on the Sea of Japan.

As usual, the stations are numbered starting from Tokyo end, and as is now canonical, the numbering includes the start and end as well. (Many of the print series which show the Tōkaidō do not follow this convention however, and their numbering schemes often do not include the two termini, resulting in the numbers of the stations given in the titles being "off-by-one" from this list.)

He went on to do a large number of other Tōkaidō series, but his first "Fifty-Three Stages of the Tōkaidō" (1833-1834, often called the 'Hoeidō Tōkaidō', after its publisher, to distinguish it from all the others) is still the most famous. He produced it after apparently travelling down the Tōkaidō in 1832 (or possibly 1831, the details are uncertain) as part of an official mission from the Shōgun to deliver a gift of horses to the Emperor. It was this series that brought him to immediate fame, from his prior relatively unknown status. This first "Fifty-Three Stations" is today unanimously considered one of the two best series he ever produced, and probably his best ever.

In total, he produced over three dozen Tōkaidō series over the course of his life. Here is a partial list of all the Tōkaidō series he worked on, including all the more common ones, with the names they are generally known by (often the name of the publisher, so indicated with a '*'), with alternative names given in brackets; their titles in Japanese; the publisher, if not given by the name; the format they were printed in; and the dates when they were originally published.

• 'Hoeido*' ('Great') Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō gojusan-tsugi no uchi; ōban yokoban; 1833
• 'Sanoki*' ('Comic Poem', 'Kyoka') Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō gojusan-tsugi; chuban yokoban; late 1830's
• 'Gyosho' Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō gojusan-tsugi no uchi; Ezaki (or Yetatsu, sources differ); aiban yokoban; early 1840's (named after the semi-cursive style of calligraphy used in the titles)
• 'Yamasho*' Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō; eighth-ōban; early 1840's
• 'Aritaya*' Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō gojusan-tsugi no uchi; quarter-aiban yokoban; mid 1840's
• 'Parallels' ('Pairs') Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō gojusan-tsugi; Ibasen, Ibakiu and others; ōban tateban; mid 1840's (with some stations by Kuniyoshi and Toyokuni III)
• 'Reisho' ('Marusei*') Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō; ōban yokoban; ca. 1850 (named after the 'square' style of calligraphy used in the titles)
• 'Kichizo' Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō gojusan-tsugi no uchi; Tsutaya; chuban yokoban; ca. 1850
• 'Figure' ('Muraichi*', 'Jinbutsu') Tōkaidō; Gojusan-tsugi; chuban tateban; 1851
• First 'Harimaze' Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō; harimaze zu-e; Ibasen; harimaze ōban tateban; ca. 1852
• 'Fujikei*' ('Bijin') Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō gojusan-tsugi zu-e; ōban tateban; ca. 1852
• Second 'Harimaze' Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō harimaze zu-e; Senichi; harimaze ōban tateban; 1852
• 'Sohitsu ('Two-brush') Tōkaidō; So-hitsu gojusan-tsugi; Maruya Kishiro; ōban tateban; 1854 (all stations a collaboration with Toyokuni III)
• 'Upright' Tōkaidō; Gojusan-tsugi meisho zu-e; Tsutaya; ōban tateban; 1855
• Third 'Harimaze' Tōkaidō; Tōkaidō gojusan-tsugi zu-e; Yamaguchi; harimaze ōban tateban; 1856

Acknowledgements