Le voyage sur la Nakasendô (Japon)

Abstract

In Japan transports, communications and the related facilities (railways stations, inns, places to eat etc.), the material culture (local savouries, local handicrafts etc.) going with them without forgetting the urban creations (post-towns, harbours etc.) play the parts of tourist attractions which nourish a great part of the culture of travel (tabi no bunka). A great deal of Japanese cultural heritage comes from goods and properties associated with moving. This paper wonders why such an attraction goes as far as building again a lot of those amenities associated with the culture of travel. It focuses on the Nakasendô, one of the main five roads linking Edo the present Tokyo to every corner of the country from the XVII century to the middle of the XIX century. Parallel to the Tokaidô which borders the Pacific Ocean, the Nakasendô crosses mountainous regions. Preserved on a large part, sided with post-towns which for some of them become real pioneers in the protection of urban landscapes, the Nakasendô still remains very popular. Nostalgia for a bygone age idealised and reinvented plays one of the major reason of this attraction.