Nakasendo Way

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Home / Glossary Terms / Honjin

Honjin

The honjin was the principal inn in a post-town along Japan’s old highways. A very large establishment, the honjin only provided lodging to the highest ranking official travelers although as time passed, rich merchants were able to purchase lodging if official visitors were not present. A few post-towns had a second honjin.

More extensive information about honjin can be found in the entry on Honjin.

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From the glossary

  • Ashikaga Takauji

    Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358) founded the second shogunate, the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate. Takauji is infamous for taking up arms against the Emperor Go-Daigo in 1335, driving him from Kyoto and setting Emperor Komyo on the throne. Takauji has been condemned in modern times because of his mistreatment of Go-Daigo. The vilification goes back to the middle of the Tokugawa period. Scholars from the School of National Studies were reviving the importance of the emperors, in contrast to the shoguns, so a ‘usurper’ like Takauji was heavily criticized. The influence of these scholars is seen in the example of Takayama Hikokuro who is said to have made a point of whipping Takauji’s grave at Tojiin temple in Kyoto.

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