Quantitative Evaluation of the Physiological Load of Walking on Historic Traffic Paths: Case Study of the Tokaido Hakone Pass East Slope during the Edo Period

Abstract

Many reports have been published on the route transition of historic traffic paths including mountain passes. However, the reasons for route selection from the viewpoint of road topography have only been qualitatively examined based on rough estimates of overall distance and maximum elevation. This paper proposes a method for quantitatively comparing and evaluating the physiological load of walking due to road topography for multiple routes having the same start and end points under equal conditions and focuses on historically changed routes. The distances and elevations of the chosen traffic routes were rigorously measured using the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) map and the Digital Elevation Model data issued by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. The longitudinal slope, walking speed, required time, and vertical power needed to walk were calculated precisely using software tools such as GIS, Excel, and VBA. As an indicator of physiological load, exercise physiology results were used to estimate energy consumption.

Case studies were conducted on the Yusaka-michi, Kyukaido, and Onsen-michi routes of the Tokaido Hakone Pass east slope from Yumoto to Hakone. These three routes are believed to have coexisted during the Edo period. While Kyukaido was chosen as the main route for crossing the Hakone Pass in those days, few people used Yusaka-michi, the main route during the Kamakura period, and Onsen-michi was used only by visitors to the hot spring. The calculated results showed that Kyukaido had the lowest physiological load value, whereas Yusaka-michi had a high physiological load value owing to its several steep slopes, and Onsen-michi had a high value because of its long distance.

It is suggested that such differences in the physiological load values were one of the factors considered by travelers in the selection of routes for crossing the Hakone Pass. This study has the potential to contribute to the discussion on the choice of historical traffic paths from the viewpoint of quantitative physiological load assessment.