Author of "Exotic Japan — The Visual & Sensual Pleasures" (Boyé Lafayette De Mente) Details How Shoguns "Invented" the Modern Travel Industry.

In the early 1600s Japan's shoguns implemented an amazing policy that resulted in the development of the world's first nation-wide travel industry.

Tokyo, Japan (PRWEB) January 29, 2006 -- It may be something of a surprise to most people that Japan was the first country in the world to have a nationwide network of roadside inns for travelers, and the first country in the world in which great numbers of ordinary people routinely traveled long distances on pleasure trips.
    
As described by author Boyé Lafayette De Mente, these two remarkable developments occurred because of a policy inaugurated shortly after the founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603, and formalized into the law of the land between 1635 and 1642.    
    
This law, known as Sankin Kotai (Sahn-keen Koh-tie), or "Alternate Attendance," required that the leaders of larger provincial fiefs (some 260 out of 300) keep their families in the shogunate capital of Edo at all times as hostages, and that the fief lords themselves spend half of their time in Edo in attendance at the Shogun's Court—a ploy designed to prevent them from becoming a threat to the new government.
    
Hereditary fief lords rotated between their fiefs and the shogunate capital every six months. Other fief lords were required to spend every other year in Edo.
    
This shogunate decree specified how many retainers—samurai warriors, aides and servants—the Daimyo (Die-m’yoh) or fief lords were required to bring with them to Edo on their trips based on the income of their fiefs—a strategy designed to cost them as much as 70% of their income and keep in them economically and militarily weak.
    
The trips of the fief lords and their entourages to and from Edo came to be known as Daimyo Gyoretsu (Die-m’yoh G’yoh-ray-t’sue) or "Processions of the Lords," with the typical entourage ranging from 150 to 350 people.
    
But as the decades passed the size of the processions became a status symbol of the individual fiefs. The processions of the larger and richer fiefs grew to number in the thousands. The richest of the lords, Maeda, had up to 10,000 retainers with him on his journeys to and from Edo.
    
The Sankin Kotai decree also designated which roads the fief lords would travel from and to their domains, and required that towns and villages along the various routes construct and staff suitable accommodations for the lords and their retainers at intervals of one day's march. Local residents were also required to maintain the roads in their vicinity and plant trees along them.
    
The implementation of this extraordinary system of political and economic control required a major construction program that resulted in the already existing network of roads and inns being extended throughout the main islands. The Shogunate decree mandated three classes of inns:
    
Honjin (Hoan-jeen), which can be translated as "Head Inns." These inns, richly appointed in the style of the imperial mansions of Kyoto, were reserved for the lords and their personal aides.
    
Waki Honjin (Wah-kee Hoan-jeen) translates as "Annex Head Inns." These inns were only slightly less luxurious than the Honjin and were reserved for other ranking guests who did not qualify for the Honjin.
    
Hatago (Hah-tah-go) inns were the equivalent of today's Holiday Inns, and were reserved for the lords’ warriors, lower ranking staff, servants, and ordinary travelers.
    
On just one road, the Tokaido (Toh-kigh-doh) or Eastern Sea Road, which connected Kyoto to Edo, there were 93 Honjin, 102 Waki Honjin, and 1,812 Hatago inns. There were four other great roads leading to Edo that were also lined with inns.
    
Not only did the Sankin Kotai system result in the development of a highly sophisticated network of inns nationwide, it was also responsible for the development of the traditions of extraordinary service that are still characteristic of Japanese hotels and inns, and for the spread of a refined level of culture throughout the rural areas of Japan.
    
These truly remarkable "Processions of the Lords" continued to be a defining characteristic of Japanese life for more than 250 years—not ending until 1862.
    
Still today, portions of the great Tokaido traversed by many of the lordly processions can be seen—and traveled—in areas between Kyoto and Tokyo. One area that is especially well-preserved is along the shores of Lake Ashi in the highlands of Hakone, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Tokyo.
    
As De Mente points out, their contributions to the visual and sensual elements of life in Japan—from the traditional architecture, interior decorations and food to the stylized etiquette of the Japanese—remain a rich legacy that both residents and visitors can enjoy.
    
“Exotic Japan” and some 30 other books on Japan by the author are available from Amazon.com. An extensive list of his books may also be seen on his personal website: phoenixbookspublishers.com.

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