| TOKAI FOR YOU |
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If we look back to the last half of the 16 th century when feudal lords throughout Japan were competing for power and were to follow the path that let to a unified country, we would see that the three men who played a crucial role in unifying the country, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, were all from this region. There a number of reasons for this, but one was that as the key transportation corridor between Edo (present day Tokyo) and Kyoto, it was a collection point for information. Further, these three leaders understood the importance of industry and worked to develop it. Oda Nobunaga, as a matter of economic policy, did away with all kinds of vested rights and established free markets. Following the same train of thought, Toyotomi Hideyoshi built up Osaka as a city of merchants. And 400 years ago, Tokugawa Ieyasu laid the foundations for industrial development in Tokyo and its environs. The "Tokaido" ( Eastern Sea Road), the main highway of its day and the name given to today's Shinkansen, cuts through the Tokai (Easter Sea) region. 38 of the 53 stations depicted in Utagawa Hiroshige's "53 Stages of the Tokaido" which show lively images of everyday life, fall within the Tokai Region. On the Tokaido Shinkansen during the 2 and one half hour trip from Tokyo to Kyoto, two thirds of what you see from the window is the Tokai Region, including, on a clear day, Mt. Fuji, Hamamatsu famous for its piano factories, and Lake Hamanako.
If you would like to see different aspects of Japan and are interested in craftsmanship, we would like to suggest that you add a few days to your stay in Tokyo and Kyoto to visit the Tokai Region for some industrial sightseeing. With the major manufacturers including Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, and Yamaha, their parts makers and machine tool suppliers as the driving force, the value of industrial exports from the Tokai Region is number one in Japan. There are also many traditional craft towns to visit: Noritake, the world famous china maker; Mikimoto, with its cultured pearls; Seto and Tajimi, the pottery town; Narumi, the home of dyed goods; Seki, the town of Japanese swords and cutlery; and Takayama with its woodcrafts and lacquer ware.
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