Honjin

The honjin at Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku.

Honjin (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, they also gained various rights. General travelers, regardless of status of money, were not able to stay at honjin.

Honjin Open to the Public

The honjin of the following post stations have either been preserved or restored and are now open to be viewed by the public:

Tōkaidō

• Futagawa-juku (Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture)
• Kusatsu-juku (Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture)

Nakasendō

• Okegawa-juku (Okegawa, Saitama Prefecture) (only open during certain times)
• Wada-shuku (Nagawa, Nagano Prefecture)
• Shimosuwa-juku (Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture)

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)
• Yamato Kaidō's Nate-shuku (Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture)