Introduction: Shrinking Japan, the Goki-Shichido, the Tokaido, the Municipal Power, and the Methodology

Abstract

This is the third volume of Shrinking Japan and Regional Variations from the current author, focused along the Tokaido under the Goki-Shichido. This chapter introduces the new model for the study of shrinking Japan, incorporating the impact of the “Coronavirus Pandemic” and the “2025 Problem in Demography.” The Tokaido in ancient times had two meanings. One of them is the Tokaido as a road/circuit, but the other is the Tokaido as a regional administrative division. However, most Japanese people today are likely to associate the Tokaido with the National Route No.1, which originated during the Edo period, and the Tokaido Shinkansen Bullet Train running between Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo and Osaka-shi. Nevertheless, the initial meaning of the Tokaido is one of the administrative divisions of the Goki-Shichido. Altogether 15 provinces were included in the Tokaido, that is Iga, Ise, Shima, Owari, Mikawa, Tootoumi, Suruga, Izu, Kai, Sagami, Musashi, Kazusa, Shimousa, Awa, and Hitachi. The Tokaido was an important highway for east–west transportation throughout the ancient and medieval times. When TOKUGAWA Ieyasu won the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), he began to reorganize roads nationwide in order to establish a strong baku-han system. This is because the development of a road network centered on Edo (today’s Tokyo), the capital, is indispensable for strengthening national control. Of particular importance were the five highways (Go-kaido), Tokaido, Nikko Kaido, Oshu Kaido, Nakasendo, and Koshu Kaido, which connect Edo and other parts of the country. During the Edo period, there were about 260 daimyo throughout Japan ruling each clan. They had to fulfill the duty of Sankin Kotai (the alternate attendance), which gave the daimyos a heavy financial burden. On the other hand, however, the system of alternate attendance contributed to improve the main roads nationwide, developed post stations, and spread culture and information widely. Among the main roads developed, the Tokaido was used by the daimyo of Tokai, Kinki, and western Japan for the alternate attendance, and was the most frequently used road by the daimyo procession. There were as many as 71,314 municipalities at the time of the Meiji Restoration. Since then, Japan has undergone three major waves of municipal consolidation, the Great Merger of Meiji, the Great Showa Consolidation, and the Great Merger of Heisei. Consequently, the number of municipalities was dramatically reduced from the initial 71,314 to 1,724, as of October 26, 2020. For the in-depth study of along the Tokaido, both the Shizuoka and Mie prefectures have been selected.