Saikaido
From Free net encyclopedia
Saikaido (西海道) is one of the main 'circuits' of Tokugawa Japan. Literally translated, it means 'western sea road', and was the name used for Kyushu and the islands of Tsushima and Iki. It is one of the Gokishichido.
Similarly, Hokkaido is the northern sea circuit. Nankaido, which includes all of Shikoku, is the southern; Tokaido is the eastern, made famous by the wood-block prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige.
However, Hokkaido is not part of the Gokishichido, being colonised much later than the other three.