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Horses were divided into three general categories based on the amount of weight they could be used to carry. ''Honma'' 本馬 and ''norikake'' 乗掛 horses were typically used to carry up to 40 ''kanme'' (approx. 150 kg) worth of materials, or 20 ''kanme'' and a rider, while ''karajiri'' 軽尻 horses were used to carry either a rider and a small amount of weight, or up to 20 ''kanme'' worth of cargo.<ref>"[https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%BB%BD%E5%B0%BB-467394#E3.83.87.E3.82.B8.E3.82.BF.E3.83.AB.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.B3.89 Karajiri]," ''Digital Daijisen''.; "[https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%9C%AC%E9%A6%AC-632560 Honma]," ''Digital Daijisen''.; "[https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%B9%97%E6%8E%9B%E3%83%BB%E4%B9%97%E6%87%B8-2073288 Norikake]," ''Nihon kokugo daijiten''.</ref> ''Honma'' and ''norikake'' horses were typically the same cost to rent, and ''karajiri'' typically cost roughly 2/3 of that price. Porters typically carried about five ''kanme'' (20kg) each, and cost about half the price of renting a ''honma'' or ''norikake'' horse.
Horses were divided into three general categories based on the amount of weight they could be used to carry. ''Honma'' 本馬 and ''norikake'' 乗掛 horses were typically used to carry up to 40 ''kanme'' (approx. 150 kg) worth of materials, or 20 ''kanme'' and a rider, while ''karajiri'' 軽尻 horses were used to carry either a rider and a small amount of weight, or up to 20 ''kanme'' worth of cargo.<ref>"[https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%BB%BD%E5%B0%BB-467394#E3.83.87.E3.82.B8.E3.82.BF.E3.83.AB.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.B3.89 Karajiri]," ''Digital Daijisen''.; "[https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%9C%AC%E9%A6%AC-632560 Honma]," ''Digital Daijisen''.; "[https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%B9%97%E6%8E%9B%E3%83%BB%E4%B9%97%E6%87%B8-2073288 Norikake]," ''Nihon kokugo daijiten''.</ref> ''Honma'' and ''norikake'' horses were typically the same cost to rent, and ''karajiri'' typically cost roughly 2/3 of that price. Porters typically carried about five ''kanme'' (20kg) each, and cost about half the price of renting a ''honma'' or ''norikake'' horse.
That said, for merchants and ordinary travelers, prices were typically negotiable to some extent.<ref>This was called ''aitai chinsen'' 相対賃銭.</ref> For those traveling on official business, they either paid rates set by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] (''osadame chinsen'') or, with the right papers, they were entitled to be provided with porters, post-horses, and other services for free. These set prices rose considerably by the end of the Edo period; rates during the [[Bakumatsu]] (1850s-60s) were often as much as 7 1/2 times as much as in the 1710s.<ref>Gallery labels, Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan, Toyohashi, Aichi.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/45579137824/sizes/4k/]</ref>
That said, for merchants and ordinary travelers, prices were typically negotiable to some extent.<ref>This was called ''aitai chinsen'' 相対賃銭.</ref> For those traveling on official business, they either paid rates set by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] (''osadame chinsen'') - typically about half the rate ordinary travelers could negotiate - or, with the right papers, they were entitled to be provided with porters, post-horses, and other services for free. Those paying set prices included ''daimyô'' on ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' journeys to and from Edo as well as some categories of those traveling on official business. The ''[[roju|rôjû]]'', ''[[Kyoto shoshidai]]'', and certain other high-ranking shogunate officials had the power to issue ''goshômon'' documents entitling someone to free services; meanwhile, the shogun's own red seal (''goshuin'') provided [[kuge|court nobles]], designated temple priests, the shogun's official [[chatsubo dochu|tea suppliers]], and select others free services as well.
The ''osadame chinsen'' set prices for ''daimyô'' and others rose considerably by the end of the Edo period; rates during the [[Bakumatsu]] (1850s-60s) were often as much as 7 1/2 times as much as in the 1710s.<ref>Gallery labels, Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan, Toyohashi, Aichi.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/45579137824/sizes/4k/]</ref>
This relay system was known as ''shukutsugi'' 宿継, and it is from this that the typical Japanese name for the 53 "stations" of the Tôkaidô - ''Tôkaidô gojûsan tsugi'' - derives.
This relay system was known as ''shukutsugi'' 宿継, and it is from this that the typical Japanese name for the 53 "stations" of the Tôkaidô - ''Tôkaidô gojûsan tsugi'' - derives.