    were roads in japan dating from the edo period. they act important roles in transportation like the appian way of ancient roman roads. major examples include the edo five routes, all of which started at edo (modern-day tokyo). minor examples include sub-routes such as the hokuriku kaidÅ and the nagasaki kaidÅ. kaidÅ, however, do not include san'yÅdÅ, san'indÅ, nankaidÅ and saikaidÅ, which were part of the even more ancient system of yamato government called gokishichidÅ. these names were used for administrative units, and the roads within these units. many highways and railway lines in modern japan follow the ancient routes and carry the same names. the early roads radiated from the capital at nara or kyoto. later, edo was the reference, and even today japan reckons directions and measures distances along its highways from nihonbashi in chÅ«Å, tokyo. ==the gokaidÅ==  the five main kaidÅ from nihonbashi in edo were: *tÅkaidÅ (æ±æµ·é) to kyoto along the coastline *nakasendÅ (ä¸­å±±é) to kyoto through the mountains *kÅshÅ« kaidÅ (ç²å·è¡é) to kÅfu *ÅshÅ« kaidÅ (å¥¥å·è¡é) to shirakawa and other places of northern japan *nikkÅ kaidÅ (æ¥åè¡é) to nikkÅ ==lodgings== at various times, the government established post stations (shukuba) along the roads. these had lodgings for travelers and grew as commercial centers. these former post towns, along with castle and harbor towns, form a major category of cities in japan. ==cultural references to kaidÅ== kaidÅ figure prominently in japanese culture. the poet matsuo bashÅ memorialized his travels along the ÅshÅ« kaidÅ (and elsewhere) in the book oku no hosomichi. a set of woodblock prints by hiroshige forms a travelogue of the tÅkaidÅ. daimyÅ, making the required sankin-kÅtai trip between their han and edo, also traveled along the kaidÅ and stayed at post stations. some woodblock prints show their stately processions. the bunraku play kanadehon chÅ«shingura, the fictionalized account of the true story of the forty-seven ronin, has several scenes set along various kaidÅ.  ==see also== *sankin kotai *gokishichidÅ {{defaultsort:ka
Road_transport_in_Japan