San'yōdō
San'yōdō (山陽道) is a Japanese geographical term.Honshū was the "sunny" side, while the northern side was the "shady" (山陰 San'in) side.
The region was established as one of the
ancient provinces: Harima, Mimasaka, Bizen, Bitchū, Bingo, Aki, Suō and Nagato.[4] However, this system gradually disappeared by the Muromachi period
(1333-1467).
The San'yōdō, however, continued to be important, and highly trafficked through the
Yamazaki, and Hyōgo; from there it followed the coast of the Seto Inland Sea to Hagi, near Shimonoseki, the western terminus of both the San'yōdō and the San'indō, and very near the westernmost end of the island of Honshū. It ran a total of roughly 145 ri
(approx. 350 miles).
As might be expected, the road served an important strategic and logistical role in a number of military situations over the course of the years.
sankin kotai) to Edo under the Tokugawa shogunate
. The road also served the more everyday purpose of providing transport for merchants, traveling entertainers, pilgrims and other commoners.
The modern national highway,
San'yō Main Line of the West Japan Railway Company
, follow the approximate route of the San'yōdō.
Demographics
The San'in subregion is a subregion of
Chūgoku region and is composed of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, and Yamaguchi in its entirety. The San'yodo subregion is also known as San'yo
subregion.
Per Japanese census data,[5] and,[6] San'yodo subregion has had positive population growth throughout the 20th century and negative population growth since the beginning of 21st century.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 3,801,000 | — |
| 1930 | 4,112,136 | +8.2% |
| 1940 | 4,492,504 | +9.2% |
| 1950 | 5,283,967 | +17.6% |
| 1960 | 5,456,043 | +3.3% |
| 1970 | 5,654,135 | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 6,197,161 | +9.6% |
| 1990 | 6,348,847 | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 6,357,707 | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 6,257,364 | −1.6% |
| 2020 | 6,079,644 | −2.8% |
See also
Notes
- ^ Deal, William E. (2005). Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan, p. 83.
- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Goki-shichidō" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 255, p. 255, at Google Books.
- ^ San'yō translates to "the sunlight-side of a mountain"
- ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 65 n3., p. 65, at Google Books
- ^ San'yo subregion 1995-2020 population statistics
- ^ San'yo subregion 1920-2000 population statistics
References
- OCLC 43483194
- Nihon Odai Ichiran). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
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