(Redirected from Saikaido)
Provincial Map of Japan in the 8th Century CE
is one of the main
circuits of the
Gokishichidō system, which was originally established during the
Asuka Period. Literally translated, it means 'western sea road', and was the name used for
Kyūshū and the islands of
Tsushima and
Iki. It consisted of nine
ancient provinces and two islands:
Chikuzen,
Chikugo,
Buzen,
Bungo,
Hizen,
Higo,
Hyūga,
Satsuma,
Ōsumi, Iki Island and Tsushima Island.
Similarly,
Nankaidō, which includes all of
Shikoku, is the "southern sea circuit" and
Tōkaidō is the "eastern sea circuit", made famous by the wood-block prints of
Hokusai and
Hiroshige.