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Ejiri was the 18th [[post-station]] along the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]] highway.
Ejiri was the 18th [[post-station]] along the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]] highway.
The name of the town derives from it being near the lower reaches (''shiri'') of a river (''e''), namely the [[Tomoegawa]] (Tomoe River).
Though the [[shukuba|post-station]] was first formally established in [[1601]] in conjunction with the broader establishment of the fifty-three stations of the Tôkaidô, the town was already the lively site of a regular market taking place on the 3rd, 13th, and 23rd of each month during the late [[Sengoku period]], when the area was controlled by the [[Imagawa clan]]. [[Takeda Shingen]] conquered the area in [[1569]] and built a fortress ([[Ejiri castle]]) in the area. The formal establishment of the post-station in 1601 brought expansion of the town, which included or was supplemented by the establishment of a mint in the area in [[1607]].
==Honjin==
One of the chief ''[[honjin]]'' (exclusive inn for ''daimyô'' and other elite travelers) in the town was run by the Terao family. The family had been retainers to the Imagawa family, and then became retainers to Takeda Shingen, taking on the name Terao following his defeat of the Imagawa. The Terao settled in Ejiri after the fall of the Takeda clan; receiving a ''shuinjô'' (red-seal license) from [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] to run an operation providing [[denma|post-horses]], they then built a residence which would serve as one of the town's ''honjin''. Granted the privileges of a surname and to wear a ''[[wakizashi]]'', the proprietor of the ''honjin'' was known in every generation as Terao Yoemon.
Tokugawa Ieyasu himself stayed overnight at the ''honjin'' on at least one occasion, in 1607, at which time he is also said to have gifted the family a [[pine]] tree from [[Miho no Matsubara]]. Others who stayed at the ''honjin'' over the course of the [[Edo period]] included [[Kasuga no Tsubone]], [[Kira Yoshihisa]], and [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryukyuan]] and [[Korean embassies to Edo]], as well as, of course, numerous ''daimyô'', shogunate officials, and so forth.
Following the [[Meiji Restoration]], the [[Meiji Emperor]] also stayed at the ''honjin'' on several occasions.
The ''honjin'' burned down along with much of the surrounding town in an air raid on July 7, 1945.
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==References==
==References==
*Plaques on-site at the former site of the Ejiri-juku Terao ''honjin''.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/50110924481/sizes/k/]
==External Links==
==External Links==