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*''First Published: 1961, Random House''

*''First Published: 1961, Random House''

''Japanese Inn'' by [[Oliver Statler]] tells the history of Japan from 1550-1953 as seen through the eyes of the Mochizuki 望月 family, the owners of an actual inn in Okitsu, a waki-honjuku　脇本宿, <ref>A regular inn that could be called upon to host daimyo or their retinue in case there was not enough room in the honjuku inns  </ref> called the Minaguchi-ya 水口屋. The town of Okitsu 興津<ref> These are all now part of Shizuoka City, Shimizu Ward, of Shizuoka Prefecture.</ref>, dominated by [[Seiken-ji|Seiken-ji Temple]]　清見寺, lies a few miles east of [[Sunpu]] in [[Suruga province]] along the important [[Highways|Tokaido Highway]]. The highway system and the inns that supported it were an important feature of the [[Edo Period]].

''Japanese Inn'' by [[Oliver Statler]] tells the history of Japan from 1550-1953 as seen through the eyes of the Mochizuki 望月 family, the owners of the Minaguchiya, a ''[[waki-honjin]]'' inn in the town of [[Okitsu]]<ref>Now part of Shimizu Ward, [[Shizuoka City]], in [[Shizuoka prefecture]].</ref>. The town, dominated by [[Seiken-ji|Seiken-ji temple]]　清見寺, lies a few miles east of [[Sunpu]] in [[Suruga province]] along the important [[Highways|Tokaido highway]]. The highway system and the inns that supported it were an important feature of the [[Edo Period]].

Seiken-ji Temple housed nobility who were passing through Okitsu. [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] stayed there as a child according to tradition; [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] stayed there on the eve of the [[Siege of Odawara|siege of Odawara castle]], as did his teamaster [[Sen no Rikyû]]. The shogun [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] on his way to Kyoto in [[1863]], and [[Meiji Emperor|Emperor Meiji]] on his way to the new capital of Tokyo also spent the night there.

Seiken-ji regularly housed nobility and other elites who were passing through Okitsu. [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] stayed there for a time during his childhood; [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] stayed there on the eve of the [[Siege of Odawara|siege of Odawara castle]], as did his tea master [[Sen no Rikyû]]. The shogun [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] on his way to Kyoto in [[1863]], and [[Meiji Emperor|Emperor Meiji]] on his way to the new capital of Tokyo also spent the night there, as did [[Korean embassies in Edo]].

At the Minaguchi-ya itself, the Itô family (founders of the Matsuzakaya department store) were regular guests by [[1691]]. Among other guests over the years were attendants of [[Kira Yoshinaka]] of Chushingura fame, [[Shimazu Hisamitsu]] of [[Satsuma province]], who gave the inn permission to use the Shimazu crest, members of the suite of the [[genro]] [[Saionji Kinmochi]] who had a close relationship with the Mochitsuki family, a member of the US occupation named Oliver Statler, and the emperor of Japan Hirohito (Shôwa). And of course among the many people passing along the Tokaido--samurai, daimyo, plotters, poets, artists, pilgrims, Dutch, gamblers--many of them must have stopped at the inn.

At the Minaguchi-ya itself, the Itô family (founders of the [[Matsuzakaya]] department store) were regular guests as early as [[1691]]. Among other guests over the years were attendants of [[Kira Yoshinaka]], [[Shimazu Hisamitsu]] of [[Satsuma han]], who gave the inn permission to use the [[Shimazu clan|Shimazu]] [[kamon|crest]], members of the entourage of ''[[genro|genrô]]'' [[Saionji Kinmochi]] who had a close relationship with the Mochitsuki family, and the Shôwa Emperor (Hirohito). Numerous other samurai, ''daimyô'', poets, artists, pilgrims, [[Dutch East India Company]] officers, and others of historical significance also stayed at the inn over the centuries.

This is written as a popular book.The bulk of the book could probably be subtitled "The Edo Period as the Japanese see it." It describes many of the famous events and cultural figures of the time as could have seen by the people at the inn. Though there is some fictionalizing, its point is to show history and culture. The amount of detail is almost incredible.  Even someone who has lived decades in Japan can still come across things first known in that book.

The inn went out of business in 1985, and by spring of the next year was being used by a local corporation for the corporation's own private use. However, there is now a local history gallery open to the public on the grounds, run by the [[Verkehr Museum|Verkehr Shimizu Port Museum]].

 

Unfortunately, the inn is no longer an inn. It went out of business in 1985, and by spring of the next year was being used by an area corporation for its private use. However, there is now a picture gallery open to the public on the grounds.

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