Japan Heritage story
Takenouchi Kaido and Yokooji: Japan's oldest national road
1400年に渡る悠久の歴史を伝える「最古の国道」
In 613, a road over 20 m wide was laid out from the port of Naniwa to the capital at Asuka. Envoys, Buddhism, merchants and Ise pilgrims all travelled it, and 1,400 years of history line its route through Osaka and Nara.
Key facts
- Theme
- Ancient burial mounds, Sea and waterside, Festivals and rituals, Mines and minerals
- Era
- Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 1400年に渡る悠久の歴史を伝える「最古の国道」
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～竹内街道・横大路（大道）～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 大阪府（大阪市, 堺市, 松原市, 羽曳野市, 太子町）・奈良県（葛城市, 大和高田市, 橿原市, 桜井市, 明日香村）
The story
At the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun rises over Mt Miwa, passes over Mt Nijo and sets in Osaka Bay, which is why the straight east-west road beneath it is called the road of the sun. Laid out in 613 under Empress Suiko, the great road linked the diplomatic port of Naniwa to the capital at Asuka, about 40 km in all. Envoys from China and Korea brought Buddhism and new technology along it, and Prince Shotoku and others built temples by its side.
In the Middle Ages the road tied together two trading cities at its ends: Sakai, a self-governing port the missionary Luis Frois called the Venice of Japan, and Imai-cho. Later it carried pilgrims to Ise.
What to see
- Taimadera: the only temple in Japan that still has its pair of Tenpyo-era pagodas.Google Maps 當麻寺 (opens in a new tab)
- Shitennoji and Eifukuji: great temples linked to Prince Shotoku.Google Maps 四天王寺 (opens in a new tab)
- Hakuchoryo kofun: a giant keyhole tomb with a moat, right by the road.Google Maps 白鳥陵古墳 (opens in a new tab)
- Yagi in Kashihara: a stretch still 24 m wide, as in ancient times.
- Sakai: gunsmith houses, Edo-era townhouses and the sound of knife forging.
Plan your trip with the Osaka and Nara guides, and see more shrines and temples. For the capital at the end of the road, see Asuka and Fujiwara.
Good to know
- Sakai is famous for its kitchen knives; a forge or knife shop makes a good stop.
- Sakai's tea culture, spread by Sen no Rikyu, lives on in its old sweet shops.
- Walk one section rather than the whole road; the mountain stretch near Mt Nijo feels the most ancient.
Questions travellers ask
Why is it called Japan's oldest national road?
It was laid out as a state road in 613 under Empress Suiko, linking the port of Naniwa to the capital at Asuka.
Why is it called the road of the sun?
At the equinoxes the sun rises over Mt Miwa and sets beyond Mt Nijo, in line with the road.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Aizu's 33 Kannon pilgrimage: faith with a day out
- Asuka: the women who shaped the birth of Japan
- Date Masamune's dazzling culture in Sendai and Matsushima
- Gyoda: the town of tabi storehouses
- Hida no Takumi: 1,300 years of master woodworkers in Takayama
- Hinenosho: a medieval estate next to Kansai Airport
- Iga and Koka: in search of the real ninja
- Izumo: the sacred land where the sun sets
- Kamenose: crossing the landslide heart of the Tatsuta Kodo
- Katsuragi Shugen: where mountain asceticism began
- Kawachinagano: a town where the Middle Ages live on
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.