Meisho, or ‘famous places’, were the sort of landmarks people wouldn’t want to miss when travelling to any area of Japan.
They encompassed a vast variety of places and establishments – sacred areas, literary landmarks (utamakura), historical sites and famous businesses, inns, and restaurants. These famous places were commonly marked and listed on maps of larger areas, sometimes the focus of heavily pictorial maps. By the end of the Tokugawa era, they also became the subject of landscape prints, and of specific illustrated guidebooks called meisho zue.
Japan's 'Famous Places'
Touring Japanese Cities
