ABSTRACT
Traveling can challenge physical awareness and makes the traveler aware of his/her body, which in daily life tends to disappear under layers of bodily routines. Being placed in the out-of-the-ordinary situation of traveling offers opportunities to free oneself from social (gender) and political constraints and to invent oneself anew. However, being away from home and one's daily routines also means to be confronted with and being forced into unfamiliar and unwanted situations, which bear the potential of a loss of control over one's body. Andreas Niehaus analyzes exemplary passages in Edo-period (1600–1867) travel writings that deal with bodies losing, trying to maintain, and regaining control. As traveling happens at the intersection of historical, geographical (spatial), cultural, social, economic, and political conditions and circumstances, the chapter also introduces the historic-cultural context of traveling in the Edo-period.
