Roads in Japan

[legate]

What were the road systems like in Japan in the period covered by Shogun 2? I know that in the early edo period check points and watch towers were set up along the main roads to keep an eye on travellers and to make sure that only the people with the right paperwork could pass. Was this happening earlier than this?

Also who would construct them? Would it be peasants forced by their lords or was there paid workers?

What would they be constructed of and how were they built?

Thanks

[shikken]

I guess this is better late than never if anyone cares. Japan had an extremely good system of roads during this time period probably the best in the world for their time as well before the Sengoku period and even after during the Edo period. Basically Japan had several basic and long road networks called Do (literally Path) that went from the Northern most parts of Tohoku all the way down the strait between Honshu and Kyushu as well as Shikoku with many smaller connecting roads that link most if not all of the towns and villages. Many more roads existed on the smaller islands as well. The most major roads were the Edo Five Routes of which the Tokaido was probably the most famous because it connected Edo to Kyoto, it had 55 post stations. Post stations called Shukuba were less like road side diners you see along American highways and more like a cross between a small town, a national border-crossing station (you needed permits/passports to travel), military base, major shopping mall, motel chain, restaurant-tea house chain and postal branch chain. The frequency of post stations, street lights, temples, shrines and other such things actually made traveling even by foot actually very easy, convenient and safe. Unlike in Europe were travelers often needed to move in armed caravans. These routes were vital for travelers (mostly merchants) to navigate from farms and towns to the major centers of trade which were at the time (as they are now actually) Edo, Osaka and Kyoto. Basically they were vital to trade and the economy of Japan. They were so effective that they still exist today albeit modernized.

These roads were typically built by local peasants from the surrounding area usually levied into service. Maintenance was also left to them and by Imperial and later Shogunal law it was made mandatory for these locals to maintain their section of roads which generally didn't amount to much more than clearing them of landslide debris, off-wash from heavy rains and the occasional animal corpse or faeces pile. The locals weren't much bothered by this mind since the roads represented their source of income. Unlike similar roads in Europe particularly England these roads were left as merely hard beaten dirt roads that were quite resistant to erosion but rarely was stone used and even then only in cities or post stations and only in certain areas like manors, castles, temples or shrines. The reason for this was actually not due to cost but due to thermal problems. Japan unlike Northern Europe you see is very hot and humid in summer, stone roads like those you might in Northern China and Northern Europe were absent in Japan because in cities it would've made them unbearably hot (the heat island effect) and walking on them even worse especially if you traveled bare-foot which a lot of Japanese did at the time.

Hope that helps.

[legate]

Awesome shikken

Thanks for the info

[shikken]

Not a problem.

[shikken]

I forgot to mention one other thing. Unlike in Europe nothing like Roman Roads made of stone existed for another reason: mountains and rivers. Japan unlike most of Europe is incredible mountainous and Cris-crossed with enough rivers to make the whole of medieval Europe jealous. Well not really but close enough.

Europe which was large and wide necessitated land travel, this was eased by its flat topography which made things like carriages and wagons viable. Big, flat lands also meant plenty of horses and cattle which could pull wagons and carriages. Thus roads needed to be paved with stone to keep wagons from getting bogged in the mud. In Japan this couldn't be done because simply there where too many mountains to pull carriages over so everything had to be carried on foot or on pony-back without wheels. Anything truly heavy was transported by sea which was greatly aided by Japan's long thin geography and its multitude of rivers and streams which cut far inland. Overall this was actually more efficient compared to the rest of the world and Japan had probably the world's best heavy transport infrastructure before trains were invented.

As a bit of trivia the Sengoku bune in the game is so called not because of the Sengoku era but because it literally means Sen Koku or one thousand koku ship. It literally carried 1000 thousand koku of rice around Japan and was for most of Japan's history the work horse ship of the nation. Japan might not have had a global flung maritime empire but its local maritime infrastructure was world class.

Medieval Japan did have oxen and animal husbandry particularly during the Heian period but this proved inefficient due to the lack of flat land to breed them on so eventually they were confined to only a few jobs in the major cities usually pulling carts of rich merchants. Buddhist beliefs also had a hand in the declining number of cattle, pigs and chickens as well. If one couldn't eat their cattle after working them to death then they were simply not worth the investment. Ponies were used to carry packs on their backs for long distances too but their use was rarer and usually for shorter inland distances. Again boats were preferred. Nearly everything was human powered but that actually made ergonomic sense too. A palanquin carried by people is more efficient at getting up a mountain road than a carriage pulled by oxen. Even during the Heian period oxen carriages for the nobility was limited to the flat areas around Kyoto. Farther journeys were done on horse.

[legate]

Brilliant info!