Roads Scholar
After spending a year walking through Japan, Andrew Nemiccolo '93 is convinced
that the journey, not the destination, holds the key to understanding.
Nemiccolo's 1993-1994 odyssey, funded by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation,
called for him to walk the entire lengths of Japan's five Gokaido roads, a
total of 1,000 miles. Gokaido, literally "five roads," served as the routes for
an ingenious 17th-century system of administration that required the daimyo, or
lords under the shogun's authority, to visit the capital city and live under
the shogun's watchful eye for half of every year. For almost three centuries
the daimyo led colorful processions to and from Tokyo along the Gokaido. With
improvements made by the shogun, the roads became major highways used by
merchants, religious pilgrims, sightseers and other travelers. Nemiccolo's trip
was designed to retrace these routes to investigate the natural topography and
current human environment.
Nemiccolo, who spent his junior year on Colby in Kyoto program, said the
Watson year was both intriguing and frightening. "I had not traveled more than
a two-hour train ride from Kyoto during my junior year," he said. "The
distinction between a year of living and a year of travel in Japan was
dramatic."
On a budget of $33 per day, Nemiccolo carried a tent and all of his clothes
and supplies on his back throughout the trip. Because of the proximity of "post
towns" along the Gokaido routes, Nemiccolo walked only about five miles per
day, which allowed time to visit historic sites and structures, collect
road-related literature at local museums and conduct interviews with local
residents. "I permitted myself to ride buses or trains only to reach lodging, a
museum or a historical site that lay off my walking route," he said. "After the
detour I would continue walking from the same point. In this way I walked the
entire length of the five roads."
He slept in virtually any open space where he was allowed. "Thinking of some
of my tenting sites, I have to laugh," Nemiccolo said. "They ranged from parks,
castle ruins, abandoned mini golf courses and bridge overpasses. This wasn't
always a barrel of laughs, but it helped cut my expenses and allowed me to meet
my daily budget."
While hiking a mountainous section of Nakasendo road he visited an elderly
couple, one of the three dozen times he was invited to stay with local
residents.
"Staying in households and Buddhist temples all over the country was
enlightening. Without question, it was the most valuable experience of the
project. In a sense, my topic of study was not roads at all but the people who
lived along the roads."
Despite the hospitality of many Japanese, Nemiccolo found the solo travel and
long gaps between mail pickups--he had mail sent to his host family's home,
where he would pick it up every few weeks--challenging but ultimately
satisfying. "Several months passed before I came to value the solitude of the
road. Almost daily I questioned and then reaffirmed my reasons for walking."
Passing through picturesque communities, strip malls, busy downtown areas and
residential zones, Nemiccolo said evaluating Japan's contemporary culture based
on his observations was "quite subjective and potentially dangerous," but he
concluded that the country's development in the 20th century has gone virtually
unchecked. The natural landscape as well as the country's historical structures
have suffered, he says. Meanwhile, high-speed transportation and communications
and the proliferation of national commercial chain stores have blurred
geographic differences within Japanese society. "Japanese people still
emphasize regional differences, but due to increased mobility and
communication, things are less distinct than ever," he said. "This realization
was somewhat discouraging to me at first, since the rich variety of related
mini-cultures within traditional Japan is what had attracted me. Fortunately,
the historical movement in Japan has been gaining momentum in the last decade.
Dozens of museums have sprung up in the old post towns in recent years."
The journey was enriching as well as enlightening, Nemiccolo said. "I can say
that I have profited greatly from a simple lifestyle of walking, note taking
and meeting people from different lands," he said. "I would like to repeat the
routine on another historic path some day."
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