Honjin of Wada town 5

Honjin and Stage-Town of Wada

▲The view of the main house of Honjin from Kaido. Its bark-roof is fixed with stones as it was really.
It was burnt out 1861. But to welcome Princess Kazunomiya, a sister of Emperor, who would come to Edo to marry Shogun, it and a hall for guests were rebuilt quickly with fiscal assistance by Shogunate government.

  Meiji revolution destroied the old institutions without mercy to legitimize the new government and its order. The instistution of Kaido and stage-town was also broken thoroughly.
  But almost people did not resist it, because the institution enforced them too heavy obligation to manage Kaido system, thus made them poor. The system had already bankrupted financially.
  For people in the stage-towns thought the houses of Honjin or so was symbols of Kaido institution which had supressed them, they wanted to remove the houses by selling them or taking them apart for changing the social order. They thought it was need for the progressof history.

▲Guest hall of Honjin called palace ： I suppose it was a view from Kaido. It stood next to the main house along the road.
But it was moved to Ryuganji temple in Maruko town and have been used for a hall.

  Thus they have gone through piculiar distinies since Meiji period, though they were not broken.
  The main house was being used for the town hall or a office of farmers cooperation. Though the plan for reconstruction of the town hall 1984 suggested to take apart it, people recognized its value of a historic and cultural asset to rebuilt (at the site it is now) 1989.
  On the other hand the guest hall for lords, called Goten or Otomaridokoro was decomposed to move to Yoda village, Maruko town and recomposed again as a hall of Ryuganji temple.

■Site of Honjin■

◆Main House for residence◆ The present main house of Honjin has a structure that was rebuilt just after it was broken out by a big fire 1861. It was defferent from the structure before then in some ways. Its site scale is about a half of that in Edo period. It reached to the part 15 meters southmore including the prefectural road 178. The guest hall was standing there. Therfore two big buildings were standing side by side in such a wide site along Kaido. ▲Inside of a side door is a kitchen, partly a earth floor. ▲A view of them from the back door The host family and servants lived in the main house. They got ready the services for the guests staying and having meals there. The structure of the house is very large and grace, as the highest class officers of the town lived in it at the same time it was a office for administration. ▲Irori hearth in a kicthen ◆Stage-Town Officers◆ The roles of the stage-town officers are explained in the articles aboutHistory of Kisoji and Kaido and Stage-town. Here shall we think how they worked about the administration and the economic management of the stage-town under the condition of Wada town. Most stage-town was in the domain of Shogunate government or the Tokugawas' clan. As the control and administration over them was very complicated, the daily management was broken down to the local government or agency. For example in Kiso area was allocated and leaved to the Owari Tokugawas clan. Wada town was ruled by the magistrate nominated by Shogun. But on the daily administration, the families of Honjin, Toiya, Wkihinjin and their supporters took charge. At same time they managed services for Kaido traffic-transportion. The main duties of them were managing to supply services for the official inn and to operate for relaying transportion along Kaido road. The taxes they had to pay was to take charge of those services. Because managing them was rather expensive, the duties were assigned to the rich and powerful families in the town. Therefore they made people in the town obey the rule of Shogunate government to support Kaido system, appealing people's demand to it. ◆Role of Honjin◆ By the way Honjin was repidly rebuilt just after its destructionby fire to welcome the princess Kazunomiya travelling to Edo for wedding. Then the main house and the guest hall become larger and more graceful than before. On Nakasendo no other Honjin was more grand then them. The guest hall, sometimes called a palace, was the place for the lords or the nobles from Kyoto or the high class officers of the government to stay. Each lord was travelling to or from Edo together with his vassals, the number of which was ruled owing to his rank and fief-scale. They formated a marching parade. The spearmen marched at a top of the parade and the bow- or gun-troops, furthermore the retainers carrying clothes and goods of the lord. The stage-towns had to receive them all for stay or rest. The lord staied at Honjin hall, high rank vassals at Wakihonjin and other retainers at ordinary inns. However the great clans for example the Owaris or the Maedas of Kaga clan the number os the vassals and retainers is over 3,000 to 5,000 or more. They are far beyond the capacity of Wada town. In such a case they were devided into some parts to stay in other towns or villages next to or neighboring, for example Shimowada, Nagakubo and Furumachi or so. Honjin had a stable for the horses of the lord and a warehouse for vassals' weapons ― spears, guns and bows ―. ▲Stirs consist of box drawers ▲Four kinds palanquins desplayed on the second floor. One is for lords and another for ordinary people.	Kabukimon gate on roadside Yakuimon gate on side of pref. road178 View of gate from main huse
	Under eaves of it Entrance room
	Garden and side-entrance View of south side of main house in summer In late autumn
	Backyard and backdoors Bathroom wing and WC Once there was water-well behind trees Back wicket
	Wooden flooring room to desplay materials Tatami room behind entrance room View of 3th room from middle room
	East room used for receiving guests Room for getting ready dinner Rooms parted with Shojis Veranda way from bathroom to WC