Changes

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> Some of the largest ''honjin'' at other post-stations included those at [[Narumi-juku]] (676.5 ''tsubo''), [[Kusatsu-juku]] (459 ''tsubo''), and [[Otsu|Ôtsu]] (394.5 ''tsubo''). In total, there were thirteen post-stations which featured ''honjin'' larger than 300 ''tsubo''. Most ''waki-honjin'', by comparison, were around 100 ''tsubo'' in area.<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 168-169.</ref> The many rooms at the ''honjin'' at Ishibe totalled 264 tatami in area. As Ishibe typically saw on average parties of 28 guests at once, we can estimate that each member of that party would have had an area of 9-10 tatami to himself; when a larger party stayed at the ''honjin'', each individual might have as little as four tatami mats to themselves. However, this is an average, and as the ''daimyô'' would have claimed a disproportionate amount of space to himself, we can presume retainers would most often have been forced to share an even smaller amount of space.<ref name=miyamoto178>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 178-179.</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> Some of the largest ''honjin'' at other post-stations included those at [[Narumi-juku]] (676.5 ''tsubo''), [[Kusatsu-juku]] (459 ''tsubo''), and [[Otsu|Ôtsu]] (394.5 ''tsubo''). In total, there were thirteen post-stations which featured ''honjin'' larger than 300 ''tsubo''. Most ''waki-honjin'', by comparison, were around 100 ''tsubo'' in area.<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 168-169.</ref> The many rooms at the ''honjin'' at Ishibe totalled 264 tatami in area. As Ishibe typically saw on average parties of 28 guests at once, we can estimate that each member of that party would have had an area of 9-10 tatami to himself; when a larger party stayed at the ''honjin'', each individual might have as little as four tatami mats to themselves. However, this is an average, and as the ''daimyô'' would have claimed a disproportionate amount of space to himself, we can presume retainers would most often have been forced to share an even smaller amount of space.<ref name=miyamoto178>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 178-179.</ref>

The number of nights per year that a ''honjin'' hosted elite visitors ranged quite widely from one post-station to another. Some ''honjin'' served only specific lords, and saw them only infrequently; a few ''honjin'' on the [[Nikko Dochu|road to Nikkô]] were dedicated to the service of the [[Gosanke]] Tokugawa families, and were only called upon to host these lords a few times a decade. By contrast, the ''honjin'' at Futagawa-juku saw as many as 100-200 elite individuals across the year, with parties of anywhere from zero to more than forty staying at the ''honjin'' in any given month.<ref>Ina, 56.</ref> The ''honjin'' at Ishibe might stand as a representative in-between example. Throughout the Edo period, Ishibe bounced back and forth between being occupied for as few as 20 or 25 nights a year, and as many as 50;<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 177.</ref> during the remainder of the year, it served simply as the village headman's personal home. Other ''honjin'' served concurrently as ''[[sake|saké]]'' breweries, shipping businesses, or commercial storefronts.

The number of nights per year that a ''honjin'' hosted elite visitors ranged quite widely from one post-station to another. Some ''honjin'' served only specific lords, and saw them only infrequently; a few ''honjin'' on the [[Nikko Dochu|road to Nikkô]] were dedicated to the service of the [[Gosanke]] Tokugawa families, and were only called upon to host these lords a few times a decade.<ref>Miyamoto Tsuneichi, ''Daimyô no tabi'' 大名の旅, Tokyo: Shakai shisô sha (1968), 43.</ref> By contrast, the ''honjin'' at Futagawa-juku saw as many as 100-200 elite individuals across the year, with parties of anywhere from zero to more than forty staying at the ''honjin'' in any given month.<ref>Ina, 56.</ref> The ''honjin'' at Ishibe might stand as a representative in-between example. Throughout the Edo period, Ishibe bounced back and forth between being occupied for as few as 20 or 25 nights a year, and as many as 50;<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 177.</ref> during the remainder of the year, it served simply as the village headman's personal home. Other ''honjin'' served concurrently as ''[[sake|saké]]'' breweries, shipping businesses, or commercial storefronts.

Similarly, the percentage of visitors who stayed overnight at the ''honjin'' rather than simply stopping briefly for a "rest" (often referred to as 休 or 小休 in documents from the time) also ranged from one ''honjin'' to another, depending on a number of factors including their location relative to major destinations, other post-stations, and river or sea crossings. At Ishibe and Toriimoto, for example, roughly 80% of the elite guests who passed through stayed overnight, whereas at Tsuchiyama, only roughly 30% stayed overnight, while the remainder merely stopped for tea, lunch, or a brief rest.<ref name=miyamoto178/> A ''honjin's'' revenues accordingly ranged widely as well; while many ''honjin'' brought in around 20-40 ''[[currency|ryô]]'' each year, some enjoyed incomes as high as 110 ''ryô'' a year.<ref name=miyamoto178/>

Similarly, the percentage of visitors who stayed overnight at the ''honjin'' rather than simply stopping briefly for a "rest" (often referred to as 休 or 小休 in documents from the time) also ranged from one ''honjin'' to another, depending on a number of factors including their location relative to major destinations, other post-stations, and river or sea crossings. At Ishibe and Toriimoto, for example, roughly 80% of the elite guests who passed through stayed overnight, whereas at Tsuchiyama, only roughly 30% stayed overnight, while the remainder merely stopped for tea, lunch, or a brief rest.<ref name=miyamoto178/> A ''honjin's'' revenues accordingly ranged widely as well; while many ''honjin'' brought in around 20-40 ''[[currency|ryô]]'' each year, some in particularly well-traveled locations, such as [[Hodogaya]], [[Mishima-juku|Mishima]], and [[Miya-juku]], regularly brought in as much as 100-150 ''ryô'' per year, during peak decades.<ref name=miyamoto178/>

''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.

''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.