Tōsandō
Appearance

Tōsandō (東山道, Japanese pronunciation: [toː.saꜜn.doː, toꜜː.san.doː],[1] lit. 'Eastern Mountain Circuit') is a Japanese geographical term.[2] It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it.[3] It is part of the Gokishichidō system.[4] It was situated along the central mountains of northern Honshu,[5] specifically the Tōhoku region.
This term also refers to a series of roads that connected the capitals (国府, kokufu) of each of the provinces that made up the region.
The Tōsandō region encompasses eight ancient provinces.[6]
- Dewa Province
- Hida Province
- Kōzuke Province
- Mino Province
- Mutsu Province[7]
- Ōmi Province
- Shimotsuke Province
- Shinano Province
After 711 AD, Tōsandō was understood to include the Musashi Province.[8]
See also
[edit]- Comparison of past and present administrative divisions of Japan
- Nakasendō (post-Sekigahara Tōsandō)
- Sanriku, neighbouring region
Notes
[edit]- ^ Kindaichi, Haruhiko; Akinaga, Kazue, eds. (10 March 2025). 新明解日本語アクセント辞典 (in Japanese) (2nd ed.). Sanseidō.
- ^ Deal, William E. (2005). Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan, p. 83.
- ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Tōsandō," Japan Encyclopedia, p. 998.
- ^ Nussbaum, "Goki-shichidō" at p. 255.
- ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 57., p. 57, at Google Books
- ^ Titsingh, p.57 n1., p. 57, at Google Books
- ^ After 718, Mutsu was subdivided to include Iwaki Province and Iwase Province.
- ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Tōsandō" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 988, p. 988, at Google Books.
References
[edit]- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon (Nihon Odai Ichiran). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691