The Structure of Local Society along Pilgrimage Routes during the Edo Period

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I investigated what sort of relationship villages along the pilgrimage routes to temples and shrines during the Edo Period had with travelers, and what kind of impact that had on the organization of local society. As groundwork, focusing on the Kumano route I digitized 260 examples of travel diaries recorded by travelers from various provinces (kuni), more than 5,000 examples of votive tablets (nosatsu) offered by travelers to free lodgings for pilgrims (zenkon' yado), and some 7,000 records of aid to travelers indicated in account ledgers found in local communities. Based on this, I distilled the world of impoverished travelers who received assistance from local communities as they continued their journey, and contrasted that with the world of their travel diaries.