This issue of the Kyoto Journal, called “old roads, revisited” digs deep into the historical aspects of some of Japan’s ancient roads such as the Tokaido and the Yamanobe Road, as well as the famous woodblock prints of Hiroshige. Books discussed are Isabella Bird’s Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Kaidoki (a 13th-century Buddhist monk’s tale of the Tokaido, translated by Meredith McKinney) and haiku poet Matsuo Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North.

The issue is available on the Kyoto Journal website.