Oedo Nihonbashi
The year 2003 marks the 400th year since Ieyasu Tokugawa established his government in Edo. Nihonbashi prospered as a center of Edo and a terminal point of many national highways including the Tokaido, Sanjo-oohashi (third bridge) in Kyoto, being the other. "Oedo Nihonbashi", a Japanese folk song sung in every corner in Japan from the end of Edo period to the beginning of Meiji era, describes 53 stations of the Tokaido Highway. The piece talks of the procession of a feudal lord leaving Nihonbashi, Edo, at four in the morning, welcoming the dawn at Takanawa and putting out the lamps. Because of the frequent repetition in the call, Kocha-e, Kocha-e (here, here) it is also known as "Kocha-e song".