Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
what might now be seen as a shocking ignorance of the customs of the country, but the
spirit of the times is indicated by the fact that the town of Kagoshima was bombarded as a
reprisal, and eventually a large indemnity was paid to Britain. There were occasions when
a procession might run into a different kind of trouble, especially in Kyoto: this was be-
causea
daimyō
mightbeinferiorinranktoanaristocratfromtheImperialPalace,although
the latter was politically powerless. The appearance of such a personage in the vicinity of
a procession would have caused no small confusion, with the
daimyō
having to get out of
his palanquin to prostrate himself in the roadway. However, these aristocrats were in fairly
impoverished circumstances and not unwilling to augment their scanty official incomes, so
some were not above hinting that unless they were suitably rewarded, they might well find
they had business at the critical time and place.
However, the processions normally proceeded uninterrupted, along the highways of
Japan which linked Edo and the great cities and domains, the most important being the
Eastern Sea Road, the Tōkaiō; it was at the time the world's busiest highway, running
between what were then two of the world's largest cities, for it went from the Shogun's
capital to that of the Emperor, with a branch to the great shrine of Ise, and extending on
to Osaka. Perhaps the greatest contrast between these highways and comparable ones in
Europe was that there was no wheeled traffic on them. Carriages drawn by oxen were the
perquisite of the Imperial court, and these would occasionally be seen around the streets
and avenues of Kyoto. Some festivals employed wheeled carts in pageants, but such carts
were ungainly vehicles with a fixed wheelbase, and drawn by crowds of men. Sometimes
the transport of heavy loads, such as big stones for castle walls, would necessitate the use
of wheeled wagons. None of these, however, affected the great highways, where travelers
wentonfoot,orrodehorses,orwerecarriedin
kago,
palanquinslikeboxessuspendedfrom
a pole which the bearers bore on their shoulders. Hence no great width of roadway was
required, and as there were no carts to make ruts or get stuck in them, metalling was un-
necessary, for it takes extremely bad conditions to prevent men and plodding horses from
getting through.
