- Japanese: 江尻 (Ejiri)
Ejiri was the 18th post-station along the Tôkaidô highway.
The name of the town derives from it being near the lower reaches (shiri) of a river (e), namely the Tomoegawa (Tomoe River).
Though the post-station was first formally established in 1601 in conjunction with the broader establishment of the fifty-three stations of the Tôkaidô, the town was already the lively site of a regular market taking place on the 3rd, 13th, and 23rd of each month during the late Sengoku period, when the area was controlled by the Imagawa clan. Takeda Shingen conquered the area in 1569 and built a fortress (Ejiri castle) in the area. The formal establishment of the post-station in 1601 brought expansion of the town, which included or was supplemented by the establishment of a mint in the area in 1607.
Honjin
One of the chief honjin (exclusive inn for daimyô and other elite travelers) in the town was run by the Terao family. The family had been retainers to the Imagawa family, and then became retainers to Takeda Shingen, taking on the name Terao following his defeat of the Imagawa. The Terao settled in Ejiri after the fall of the Takeda clan; receiving a shuinjô (red-seal license) from Tokugawa Ieyasu to run an operation providing post-horses, they then built a residence which would serve as one of the town's honjin. Granted the privileges of a surname and to wear a wakizashi, the proprietor of the honjin was known in every generation as Terao Yoemon.
Tokugawa Ieyasu himself stayed overnight at the honjin on at least one occasion, in 1607, at which time he is also said to have gifted the family a pine tree from Miho no Matsubara. Others who stayed at the honjin over the course of the Edo period included Kasuga no Tsubone, Kira Yoshihisa, and Ryukyuan and Korean embassies to Edo, as well as, of course, numerous daimyô, shogunate officials, and so forth.
Following the Meiji Restoration, the Meiji Emperor also stayed at the honjin on several occasions.
The honjin burned down along with much of the surrounding town in an air raid on July 7, 1945.
| Preceded by: Okitsu |
Stations of the Tôkaidô | Succeeded by: Fuchû-juku |
References
- Plaques on-site at the former site of the Ejiri-juku Terao honjin.[1]