Hikyaku (飛脚) were
couriers in
Japan who carried letters, documents, bills of exchange, and packages, using a system of relay stations under the
bakufu military governments, beginning in the
Kamakura period (1185–1333), gradually yielding to more modern systems beginning in 1858.
There were many different types of hikyaku, including:
Tsugi-bikyaku (継飛脚), only available high-ranking bakufu officials such as
Rōjū (elder statesmen), the
Kyoto Shoshidai (Kyoto Deputy), the Osaka jōdai (Governor of
Osaka Castle), the governor of
Sunpu Castle,
Kanjō-bugyō (financial magistrates), and others of
Bugyō (magistrate) status.
Daimyo-bikyaku (大名飛脚): couriers established by individual
Daimyo (feudal lords) to carry messages between their domains and the domainal residence in
Edo, and sometimes also to their rice warehouses in port cities.
Kome-bikyaku (米飛脚): couriers who carried news about rice prices from the
Dōjima Rice Exchange in
Osaka to interested parties elsewhere.
Hikyaku tonya (飛脚問屋) or 飛脚屋 (hikyaku-ya), commercial message-carrying services available to everyone else.
Tooshi-bikyaku (通飛脚): a single runner who carried a message or parcel, without relay, from the sender to the addressee.
Machi-bikyaku (町飛脚): specialized runners within the Edo Bakufu, much used during the
waning years of the Edo Bakufu. With bells jingling from their message boxes, they were called "chirin chirin no machi-bikyaku" by the townsfolk. According to the Morisada Mango of 1837, "Their appearance was thus: the message box was painted in persimmon ink, the courier, place, and official's family name in
vermilion ink, this box on a pole slung over the back, with wind chimes dangling from the front end of the pole, warning the crowds when the courier passed through, thus the name chirin chirin no machi-bikyaku."
1949. A motion picture titled Tengu hikyaku (Goblin Courier) was produced by
Daiei Film, starring
Daisuke Katō.
1999. An episode of the
romantic comedyfantasyanime series
Trouble Chocolate is titled Run, Hikyaku-kun (走れ、飛脚くん! (Hashire, hikyaku-kun)), in which a small monster named Courier (Hikyaku) appears.
References
Bibliography
Moriya, Katsuhisa (1990). "Urban Networks and Information Networks". In Nakane, Chie; Ôishi, Shinzaburô (eds.). Tokugawa Japan: The Social and Economic Antecedents of Modern Japan. Translated by Ronald, Toby.