Changes

''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. Most had previously been (and continued to be) the private homes of village elders or headmen (''shôya'' or ''nanushi'').<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 176.</ref> Across the fifty-three stations of the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô Highway]], there were 111 ''honjin'' and 73 ''waki-honjin''.<ref name=miyamoto167>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 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/>

''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. Most had previously been (and continued to be) the private homes of village elders or headmen (''shôya'' or ''nanushi'').<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 176.</ref> Across the fifty-three stations of the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô Highway]], there were 111 ''honjin'' and 73 ''waki-honjin''.<ref name=miyamoto167>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 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/>

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.

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 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/>

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.

As a ''daimyô'' and his entourage approached a post-town, they would send a messenger ahead to alert the ''honjin'' to the ''daimyô's'' impending arrival. A special curtain, often bearing the visitor's ''[[kamon]]'' was hung over the entrance, and plaques known as ''seki-fuda'' bearing his name were placed both at the ''honjin'' and at both main entrances to the town, announcing who it was that had reserved the town's lodgings for the night.<ref name=miyamoto175>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 175.</ref><ref name=futaplaques/> A number of other preparations were also performed, including arranging small mounds of sand or salt, called ''[[morisuna]]'', and a decorative broom and bucket (known as ''kazari-hôki'' and ''kazari-oke''), outside of the inn as symbolic indications of the cleanliness and preparedness of the ''honjin''. The messenger would often exchange a ''sekifuda'', an official indication of his lord's wishes, for a receipt from the ''honjin'' confirming their acknowledgement of the reservation. When the ''daimyô'' then arrived in town, he would be greeted near the entrance to the town, and led to the ''honjin'', where a proper reception awaited. It was not uncommon for all the officials of the post-town to contribute directly to the process of receiving a ''daimyô'' (or other figure of similar status), with some officials performing the greetings and formal reception, some ensuring the streets and the ''honjin'' itself were clean and in good condition, and others overseeing guardsmen and security concerns. ''Daimyô'' parties commonly numbered in the hundreds, or in the thousands when one includes the many porters and other commoner workers hired to accompany the group. Such groups could not be housed solely at a single ''honjin'', or even in most cases across the multiple ''honjin'' and ''waki-honjin'' in a given town. Rather, it was quite common for as many as 150 inns (''[[hatagoya]]'') and private homes, often the majority of the town as a whole, to be given over to the task of housing middle- and lower-ranking members of a traveling party; such additional spaces were known as ''shimo yado'' (lit. "lower lodgings").<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 173, 179-180.</ref>

As a ''daimyô'' and his entourage approached a post-town, they would send a messenger ahead to alert the ''honjin'' to the ''daimyô's'' impending arrival. A special curtain, often bearing the visitor's ''[[kamon]]'' was hung over the entrance, and plaques known as ''seki-fuda'' bearing his name were placed both at the ''honjin'' and at both main entrances to the town, announcing who it was that had reserved the town's lodgings for the night.<ref name=miyamoto175>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 175.</ref><ref name=futaplaques>Plaques on-site at Futagawa-juku honjin.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/45579059734/sizes/k/][https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/32430412408/sizes/l/]</ref> A number of other preparations were also performed, including arranging small mounds of sand or salt, called ''[[morisuna]]'', and a decorative broom and bucket (known as ''kazari-hôki'' and ''kazari-oke''), outside of the inn as symbolic indications of the cleanliness and preparedness of the ''honjin''. The messenger would often exchange a ''sekifuda'', an official indication of his lord's wishes, for a receipt from the ''honjin'' confirming their acknowledgement of the reservation. When the ''daimyô'' then arrived in town, he would be greeted near the entrance to the town, and led to the ''honjin'', where a proper reception awaited. It was not uncommon for all the officials of the post-town to contribute directly to the process of receiving a ''daimyô'' (or other figure of similar status), with some officials performing the greetings and formal reception, some ensuring the streets and the ''honjin'' itself were clean and in good condition, and others overseeing guardsmen and security concerns. ''Daimyô'' parties commonly numbered in the hundreds, or in the thousands when one includes the many porters and other commoner workers hired to accompany the group. Such groups could not be housed solely at a single ''honjin'', or even in most cases across the multiple ''honjin'' and ''waki-honjin'' in a given town. Rather, it was quite common for as many as 150 inns (''[[hatagoya]]'') and private homes, often the majority of the town as a whole, to be given over to the task of housing middle- and lower-ranking members of a traveling party; such additional spaces were known as ''shimo yado'' (lit. "lower lodgings").<ref>Miyamoto, ''Nihon no shuku'', 173, 179-180.</ref>

While some records seem to suggest that ''daimyô'' (or, more likely senior members of their retainer band) were charged and directly paid a set amount of silver to the ''honjin'' or to the town authorities for their stay,<ref>Watanabe, 60-61, 73-74.</ref> historian Miyamoto Tsuneichi writes that ''honjin'' operators neither asked for, nor typically directly received, payment for their services, but rather simply exchanged gifts with the ''daimyô'', the amount received typically exceeding that which they would have officially charged. Where it was insufficient, sometimes a considerate and observant ''[[karo|karô]]'' would make up the difference.<ref name=miyamoto175/>

While some records seem to suggest that ''daimyô'' (or, more likely senior members of their retainer band) were charged and directly paid a set amount of silver to the ''honjin'' or to the town authorities for their stay,<ref>Watanabe, 60-61, 73-74.</ref> historian Miyamoto Tsuneichi writes that ''honjin'' operators neither asked for, nor typically directly received, payment for their services, but rather simply exchanged gifts with the ''daimyô'', the amount received typically exceeding that which they would have officially charged. Where it was insufficient, sometimes a considerate and observant ''[[karo|karô]]'' would make up the difference.<ref name=miyamoto175/>

''Honjin'' lost their special status in [[1871]], officially (legally) becoming no different from regular inns, in the aftermath of the shogunate's loosening of ''sankin kôtai'' obligations in [[1863]], and the collapse of the shogunate five years later.<ref>Miyamoto, ''Daimyô no tabi'', 47.</ref>

''Honjin'' lost their special status in [[1871]], officially (legally) becoming no different from regular inns, in the aftermath of the shogunate's loosening of ''sankin kôtai'' obligations in [[1863]], and the collapse of the shogunate five years later.<ref>Miyamoto, ''Daimyô no tabi'', 47.</ref>

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