本陣 is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations ( shukuba) during the later part of the Edo period.
Evolution of Honjin
Originally,
honjin were places from which generals directed battles and, therefore, were fleeting in nature. However, as commanders began to transform the
honjin into temporary lodgings during battle and travel,
honjin came to be places where
daimyō and other representatives of the
shogunate, including
hatamoto,
monzeki, etc., were allowed to stay during their travels. Many of the
honjin were actually personal residences of village and town leaders. As such, they received official designations from the government and expanded their residences to include walls, gates and other features. Because of their cooperation, the owners of the
honjin also gained various special rights. General travelers, regardless of status or money, were not able to stay at
honjin.
Waki-honjin
Waki-honjin (脇本陣), also referred to as "sub-
honjin," are similar in structure and operation to, but generally smaller than,
honjin. The rules of operation were also slightly different. When two official traveling parties are staying in the same post station, the more powerful of the two stayed in the main
honjin. The major difference, though, is that general travelers were able to stay at the
waki-honjin, if they had enough status or money.
Honjin open to the public
The
honjin or
waki-honjin of the following post stations have either been preserved or restored and are now open to be viewed by the public:
Tōkaidō:
Nakasendō:
Kōshū Kaidō:
-
Hino-shuku (Hino, Tokyo)
-
Ohara-shuku (Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture)
Other Routes:
-
Matsumaedō's Arikabe-shuku (Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture)
-
Mito Kaidō's Toride-shuku (Ibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture)
-
Saigoku Kaidō's Kōriyama-shuku (Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture)
-
San'yōdō's Yakage-shuku (Yakage, Okayama Prefecture) ( honjin and waki-honjin)
-
Yamato Kaidō's Nate-shuku (Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture)
See also
