meisho

Meisho is a Japanese term (名所) meaning "famous place" or "scenic spot." In historical and cultural contexts, it denotes locations celebrated for scenery, historical associations, or cultural significance. The concept has been especially prominent since the Edo period as a way to identify places of interest for travelers and artists. In art and printmaking, meisho gave rise to meisho-e, a genre of ukiyo-e that depicted well-known sites, landscapes, and city views. These images often accompanied travel guides and helped shape popular notions of regional identity.

In practice, meisho referred to places along major travel routes, such as the Tōkaidō, or sites tied to historic legends and poetry. Illustrated guidebooks and albums—often labeled as meisho zue or similar formats—collected descriptions and plates of famous spots, fueling tourism and seasonal viewing. Notable meisho-e subjects include coastal landscapes, sacred islands, and famous cliff or hillside views, with artists such as Utagawa Hiroshige producing series that present clusters of meisho as cohesive journeys.

The concept continues in modern Japanese, where 名所 remains the standard term for prominent tourist or historic sites and is commonly used in signage, guidebooks, and place-name discussions. It also influences contemporary tourism cultures and landscape representation.

See also: Ukiyo-e, Meisho zue, Tōkaidō, Japanese travel literature. Notable examples: Hiroshige’s Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, and other meisho-e series.