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A ''honjin'' might house a ''daimyô'' along with as many as sixty of his higher-level retainers, but rarely if ever housed an entire ''sankin kôtai'' mission; not only were few (if any) ''honjin'' large enough to accommodate that many people, but the idea of lower-ranking followers sharing the same lodgings with the lord went against social norms. ''Honjin'' were often accompanied by secondary establishments known as ''waki-honjin'', where additional members of an elite group might stay; for example, when the lead ambassador (''seishi'') of a Ryukyuan embassy stayed at a ''honjin'', his vice- or deputy envoy (''fukushi'') typically stayed at the town's ''waki-honjin'', along with other members of the embassy above a certain rank, while the remaining, lower-ranking, members of their mission were given lodgings at ''[[hatagoya]]'' - a more regular sort of inn, frequented by individual samurai and commoner travelers. Lower-ranking members of a mission might also be housed in private homes, Buddhist temples, or Shinto shrines.

A ''honjin'' might house a ''daimyô'' along with as many as sixty of his higher-level retainers, but rarely if ever housed an entire ''sankin kôtai'' mission; not only were few (if any) ''honjin'' large enough to accommodate that many people, but the idea of lower-ranking followers sharing the same lodgings with the lord went against social norms. ''Honjin'' were often accompanied by secondary establishments known as ''waki-honjin'', where additional members of an elite group might stay; for example, when the lead ambassador (''seishi'') of a Ryukyuan embassy stayed at a ''honjin'', his vice- or deputy envoy (''fukushi'') typically stayed at the town's ''waki-honjin'', along with other members of the embassy above a certain rank, while the remaining, lower-ranking, members of their mission were given lodgings at ''[[hatagoya]]'' - a more regular sort of inn, frequented by individual samurai and commoner travelers. Lower-ranking members of a mission might also be housed in private homes, Buddhist temples, or Shinto shrines.

''Honjin'' and ''waki-honjin'' sprang up quickly after ''sankin kôtai'' was made obligatory for all ''daimyô'' in [[1642]],<ref>With a very few select exceptions, such as for those clans whose service to the realm instead took the form of effecting the defense of the port of [[Nagasaki]], for example.</ref> and soon became standard fixtures in major ports and post-towns across the realm. Across the fifty-three stations of the Tôkaidô, there were 111 ''honjin'' and 73 ''waki-honjin''.<ref name=miyamoto167>Miyamoto, 167.</ref> While some towns had only one ''honjin'' (and perhaps not even a ''waki-honjin''), larger towns often had several of each. [[Hakone]] and [[Hamamatsu]], for example, were each home to six ''honjin''. While in most towns the ''honjin'' outnumbered the ''waki-honjin'', there were exceptions; at Ômiya on the Nakasendô, there were nine ''waki-honjin'' but only one ''honjin''.<ref name=miyamoto167/>

''Honjin'' and ''waki-honjin'' sprang up quickly after ''sankin kôtai'' was made obligatory for all ''daimyô'' in [[1642]],<ref>With a very few select exceptions, such as for those clans whose service to the realm instead took the form of effecting the defense of the port of [[Nagasaki]], for example.</ref> and soon became standard fixtures in major ports and post-towns across the realm. Across the fifty-three stations of the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô Highway]], there were 111 ''honjin'' and 73 ''waki-honjin''.<ref name=miyamoto167>Miyamoto, 167.</ref> While some towns had only one ''honjin'' (and perhaps not even a ''waki-honjin''), larger towns often had several of each. [[Hakone]] and [[Hamamatsu]], for example, were each home to six ''honjin''. While in most towns the ''honjin'' outnumbered the ''waki-honjin'', there were exceptions; at [[Omiya-juku|Ômiya]] on the [[Nakasendo|Nakasendô]], there were nine ''waki-honjin'' but only one ''honjin''.<ref name=miyamoto167/>

These were often the largest buildings in a given town.<ref>Though there are obvious exceptions, such as in castle-towns such as Odawara, where the castle was far larger than the ''honjin''.</ref> The sole ''honjin'' at the small post-town of [[Futagawa-juku]], along the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]] [[Highways|highway]] in [[Mikawa province]], survives today as a local history museum; the building is 17 1/2 ''[[Japanese Measurements|ken]]'' wide, and covers a space of roughly 525 ''[[Japanese Measurements|tsubo]]''.<ref>Watanabe, 53.</ref> The largest ''honjin'' on the Tôkaidô were at [[Odawara-juku]]. This was in large part because of its location. The castle-town is both close to [[Edo]], meaning that most ''daimyô'' and other travelers from western Japan would come that way, and it is located between a difficult mountain pass & a river crossing; as a result, Odawara was a place that few travelers merely passed through, and where most instead stayed the night.<ref>Plaques and signs on-site at Odawara-juku nariwai kôryûkan.</ref>

These were often the largest buildings in a given town.<ref>Though there are obvious exceptions, such as in castle-towns such as Odawara, where the castle was far larger than the ''honjin''.</ref> The sole ''honjin'' at the small post-town of [[Futagawa-juku]], along the Tôkaidô in [[Mikawa province]], survives today as a local history museum; the building is 17 1/2 ''[[Japanese Measurements|ken]]'' wide, and covers a space of roughly 525 ''[[Japanese Measurements|tsubo]]''.<ref>Watanabe, 53.</ref> The largest ''honjin'' on the Tôkaidô were at [[Odawara-juku]]. This was in large part because of its location. The castle-town is both close to [[Edo]], meaning that most ''daimyô'' and other travelers from western Japan would come that way, and it is located between a difficult mountain pass & a river crossing; as a result, Odawara was a place that few travelers merely passed through, and where most instead stayed the night.<ref>Plaques and signs on-site at Odawara-juku nariwai kôryûkan.</ref>

The ''honjin'' at Futagawa-juku saw as many as 100-200 elite individuals across the year, with anywhere from zero to more than forty staying at the ''honjin'' in any given month.<ref>Ina, 56.</ref> ''Daimyô'' typically established regular reservations with ''honjin'' along their ''sankin kôtai'' routes, such that the ''honjin'' would know to expect them on particular dates each year, and to have a reception prepared for them in a particular manner, with the ''daimyô'' paying a pre-arranged amount as a show of gratitude. Such arrangements helped avoid difficulties which might otherwise emerge from negotiating and re-negotiating the schedule, and the terms, each time. Still, there were times when a ''daimyô'' arrived in a town to find that another ''daimyô'' (or Imperial envoy, or another guest of similar elite status) had booked the inn for the night; most of the time, this resulted in the newcomer taking up lodging in the town's ''waki-honjin'', or another similar establishment, when available. ''Daimyô'' also quite regularly passed through post-towns, not staying the night, but merely using the ''honjin'' as a place to rest for a bit, and to perhaps enjoy a meal. Such meals and rest-stops were also often pre-arranged, but ''daimyô'' could also simply arrive and have their men make an arrangement on the spot.

The ''honjin'' at Futagawa-juku saw as many as 100-200 elite individuals across the year, with anywhere from zero to more than forty staying at the ''honjin'' in any given month.<ref>Ina, 56.</ref> ''Daimyô'' typically established regular reservations with ''honjin'' along their ''sankin kôtai'' routes, such that the ''honjin'' would know to expect them on particular dates each year, and to have a reception prepared for them in a particular manner, with the ''daimyô'' paying a pre-arranged amount as a show of gratitude. Such arrangements helped avoid difficulties which might otherwise emerge from negotiating and re-negotiating the schedule, and the terms, each time. Still, there were times when a ''daimyô'' arrived in a town to find that another ''daimyô'' (or Imperial envoy, or another guest of similar elite status) had booked the inn for the night; most of the time, this resulted in the newcomer taking up lodging in the town's ''waki-honjin'', or another similar establishment, when available. ''Daimyô'' also quite regularly passed through post-towns, not staying the night, but merely using the ''honjin'' as a place to rest for a bit, and to perhaps enjoy a meal. Such meals and rest-stops were also often pre-arranged, but ''daimyô'' could also simply arrive and have their men make an arrangement on the spot.