Tourism again

The other day while doing a bit of research on hatago (inns that provided accommodation and meals for commoners, as opposed to honjin, which were reserved for daimyo, or feudal lords, and their retainers), I came across this interesting article which explains how the development of the Nakasendo and the other major highways of Edo Japan was closely linked to the introduction by the Tokugawa shogunate of the sankin kotai, or alternate attendance, policy.

Although details of this policy changed throughout the 250-year rule of the Tokugawa clan, in general terms, the requirement was that daimyo had to move periodically between Edo and their fief, usually spending alternate years in each location. Also, members of their family were forced to live permanently in Edo as hostages. The idea was that the expenditure necessary to maintain residences in both locations, and to make the processions (sometimes up to 350 strong) to and from Edo, would financially strain the daimyo and prohibit them from waging war.

But what initially caught my eye in this article, particularly in light of my recent posting on tourism, was the heading: How shoguns created the world's first travel industry. The author argues that Japan was "the first country in the world in which great numbers of ordinary people routinely traveled long distances on pleasure trips".

While there's little doubt that the sankin kotai system was a major factor in the development of the five highways and the network of inns of various grades along these highways, I do think this statement rather glosses over the severe restrictions that the Tokugawa regime placed on domestic travel (overseas travel, of course, was strictly prohibited).

There was a travel boom among the ordinary populace in the Edo period, but it was centered on short trips to hot springs or for sightseeing, since movement around the country was not officially permitted except for those on pilgrimages or other visits of a religious nature. Movement in and out of Tokyo in particular was severely restricted, with barrier towns established on all the main highways leading to the capital. (In one of these barrier towns, Hakone, the original checkpoint buildings have been restored and transformed into a museum.)

So what category of travel does the Kisokaido Project fall under? Well, I don't think it can be classified as tourism in the Debordian sense (i.e. "the leisure of going to see what has become banal"). Nor is it a pilgrimage as such, although it does have elements of a pilgrimage, albeit in a totally non-religious sense. I like to think of it as a journey whose route and timing have been determined in advance, but whose true purpose and meaning will only be revealed as the journey unfolds. One thing that's certain (and Debord would certainly approve of this) is that fun will be had.

Distance walked today: 0km
Total distance walked since blog began: 78.4km