Interactive map for estimating Edo pd journeys

[Travis Seifman]

Dear colleagues,

I have just learned of an online resource that I thought could be of interest for those looking to estimate how long it took to travel from place to place in early modern Japan by foot, horse, or palanquin.

You can find it here: https://maps.chizutodesign.com/edo-routing/

Designed by graphic designer Katô Hajime (https://chizutodesign.com/profile), the site allows you to select two points along the major highways of early modern Japan, as well as whether to travel by foot, horse, fast palanquin, or hikyaku courier, as well as multiple speeds within each of those options (e.g. ordinary horse travel or fast horse), and it will suggest the route, the length of the journey, and where you might stop for the night each night along the way.

Details of what datasets are being used, etc., are available on the website.

The site does have its limitations. It does not for the most part include travel by river or sea, and thus is not necessarily reflective of the actual routes or travel times of those who sailed for portions of their journeys. And, perhaps in connection with that, some destinations I wished to calculate the travel time to/from (i.e. port towns) are not included. However, it's a beautiful interface, and includes routes from as far south as Kagoshima to as far north as Hakodate, as well as around the circumference of Shikoku, and to sites such as Nikkô and Narita-san. 

I'm certainly going to be turning to this whenever I need a reminder how long it typically took to get from Edo to Osaka, or the like.

All my best

Travis

Travis Seifman

Art Research Center

Ritsumeikan University

[Travis Seifman]

Dear all,

My apologies for the multiple emails.

I had meant to give credit to the fact that I learned of this from the Instagram account of Japan arts & culture "magazine" Spoon & Tamago https://www.instagram.com/p/DcpW5ivRPwn/.

Cheers,

Travis