Very cool. The road doesn’t look like much but the fact that it was a road for daimyo and samurai makes it very cool to me. I love it.

Yes, looking at the road it is glaringly non-special. It’s a backstreet where if you park on the side of the road, you block the road.

Hard to believe it was a link in the chain connecting “the silk road” to Edo.

Thanks for your comment.

Aw. Thanks for the shoutout!

I love these videos. I keep thinking that I need to get off my ass and start making videos myself. The entrance path to Kôtô-in would definitely be a start, as that needs to be appreciated in motion, in 3D space, not just in a photo, but after that, well, really I could go anywhere. Videos of exploring Pontocho, perhaps…

Getting back to the topic of the post, I’ve been reading a bit here and there the last few weeks Constantine Vaporis’ book “Tour of Duty,” which so far (a few tens of pages in) seems an excellent and thorough book on the sankin kôtai system. It focuses primarily on Tosa for its examples and case studies, so no direct mention of the Nagasaki kaidô, at least not yet, but the idea is quite close, quite similar. I wonder who exactly used the Nagasaki kaidô, other than the Dutch. Did the Saga and Fukuoka daimyo use it for their sankin kôtai missions, perhaps? Satsuma, I believe, took boats from within their own territory straight to somewhere near Osaka (the port of Tsu no ura, actually, I think, in modern-day Hiroshima-ken).

I’m really glad you like to videos. I’m a bit unsure what they have to offer because they’re hardly choc-o-block full of facts. Anyway, I’m glad for the feedback.

I recommend you start taping some vids while you are in Japan. I’m sure you would gather a legion of fans. Most interesting for me are the processes involved, the shooting, editing, uploading, etc… there really is a lot involved & it’s all good experience.

As for the road use relating to the sankin kôtai system, the section I showed was a ways south, so I’d say the Kuroda’d hit the road much further to the N and E. I’ll leave any further guessing there.

As a side note, near to where I live, and therefore the road, is the site Tsushima-han magistrate. But, I think these guys were exempt from having to make the trip, is that right?

Hey man,

A very humble thanks for the shout-out on the video. Of those shouted and unshouted I am certainly the least deserving, but very appreciative non the less.

Sorry to be so long in commenting on this one. Just got back from Canada today.

I’ve always dug those historical roads. I bet if you went out with your pick-ax you might find some original paving stones… Can you imagine taking that long *** road instead of riding in a boat to edo…. Talk about inefficiency… But I suppose that was the twisted reason to begin with. Darn those Tokagawas!

One thing I have heard, (and believe for the most part…..) was that wheeled conveyances were banned for anyone but the Emperor. (which would make the journey even more unbearable.) I have a feeling this rule only appeared at certain time periods and maybe didn’t apply to pulled carts… or maybe only on roads.. or who knows. I would be interested to learn more about it. (or if it were even true I suppose).

Hey, sweet job reading the Kanji for the town names!!! Hehehehe, that’s an accomplishment in itself… I was happy to be able to read the street sign!

Thanks again for the shout out my friend.

Thanks for the shoutout ^^

Sorry I’m a bit behind checking on my friends’ blogs. This daily HDR thing is turning into a second full-time job. But I’ll spare you further excuses ;)

I always enjoy your videos. It’s cool to see other parts of Japan that I haven’t been able to visit yet. And of course, anything that has some history behind it is instantly fascinating to me.

And about the narrow roads… yeah.. always a bit of a nerve-racking experience doing the two car shuffle when there’s barely enough room for even one. Doesn’t help that Aichi, specifically Mikawa has the highest car-accident rate in the country. The drivers here scare the bejesus out of me.