The ''honjin'' at Inaba_Kaidō's_Ōhara-shuku..html" ;"title="Ōhara-shuku.html" ;"title="Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku">Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku.">Ōhara-shuku.html" ;"title="Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku">Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku. is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations (''shukuba'') during the later part of the Edo period.

Evolution of ''Honjin''

Originally, ''honjin'' were places from which generals directed battles and, therefore, were fleeting in nature. However, as commanders began to transform the ''honjin'' into temporary lodgings during battle and travel, ''honjin'' came to be places where ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' and other representatives of the

shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...

, including '' hatamoto'', '' monzeki'', etc., were allowed to stay during their travels. Many of the ''honjin'' were actually personal residences of village and town leaders. As such, they received official designations from the government and expanded their residences to include walls, gates and other features. Because of their cooperation, the owners of the ''honjin'' also gained various special rights. General travelers, regardless of status or money, were not able to stay at ''honjin''.

''Waki-honjin''

''Waki-honjin'' (脇本陣), also referred to as "sub-''honjin''," are similar in structure and operation to, but generally smaller than, ''honjin''. The rules of operation were also slightly different. When two official traveling parties are staying in the same post station, the more powerful of the two stayed in the main ''honjin''. The major difference, though, is that general travelers were able to stay at the ''waki-honjin'', if they had enough status or money.

''Honjin'' open to the public

The ''honjin'' or ''waki-honjin'' of the following post stations have either been preserved or restored and are now open to be viewed by the public: Kusatsujuku-honjin Kusatsu Shiga Pref05s3s4592

Kusatsujuku-honjin Kusatsu Shiga Pref05s3s4592

Tōkaidō: * Maisaka-juku (

Hamamatsu is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was . Overview H ...

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) (''waki-honjin'') * Futagawa-juku ( Toyohashi,

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) * Kusatsu-jukuMidokoro
. City of Kusatsu. Accessed November 6, 2007. ( Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture) ''(also part of the Nakasendō)'' Nakasendō: *

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( Okegawa,

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) ''(only open during certain times)'' * Wada-shuku ( Nagawa,

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) * Shimosuwa-juku ( Shimosuwa,

) ''(also part of the Kōshū Kaidō)'' * Tsumago-juku ( Nagiso, Nagano) * Magome-juku ( Nakatsugawa,

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) * Ōta-juku ( Minokamo,

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) (''waki-honjin'') * Unuma-juku ( Kakamigahara,

) (''waki-honjin'')

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: *Hino-shuku ( Hino,

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) *Ohara-shuku ( Sagamihara,

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) Other Routes: * Matsumaedō's Arikabe-shuku ( Kurihara,

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) * Mito Kaidō's Toride-shuku (

Ibaraki Ibaraki may refer to any of the following places in Japan: * Ibaraki Prefecture, one of the 47 prefectures of Japan **Ibaraki, Ibaraki, a town in Ibaraki Prefecture **Ibaraki Airport, an airport in Omitama, Ibaraki **Ibaraki dialect, the dialect sp ...

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) * Saigoku Kaidō's Kōriyama-shuku (

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) *

San'yōdō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. The San'yōdō corresponds for the most part with the modern conception of the San'yō region. This name derives from the id ...

's Yakage-shuku ( Yakage,

Okayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture borders Tottori Prefecture to the ...

) (''honjin'' and ''waki-honjin'') * Yamato Kaidō's Nate-shuku ( Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture)

References

Japanese historical terms Road transport in Japan Edo period {{Japan-hist-stub

Evolution of ''Honjin''

''Waki-honjin''

''Honjin'' open to the public

See also

References