Although not an official school day for me (karen), I had been invited to join the seventh grade class on a walking tour to Tsubaki Honjin- a famous and very old inn that was used during the Edo Period. Feudal lords (daimyos) were required to travel to Tokyo (the capital) every two years. Along with their samurai warriors and staff, their 'caravans' could consist of 1,000 folks traveling along the "western country road" to get to and from Tokyo. This inn was just one of many in this small little town that would house the travelers. This was a fascinating day for me- esp. considering that all of this history is within 4 km of the school!
The side entrance and the first sign of spring blooms!
This is Kaji-san. The Tsubaki Honjin was run by his family and has been lived in and cared for for the past 17 generations!!!
A minature display of the area back in the day.... theTsubaki Honjin was the largest of the inns and was the place that the highest Lord would reside!
These posts (signs) had the names of the various lords who stayed at the inn. One of the staff would run to the river to meet the incoming guests and would hold this sign with their name on it and personally escort them back to their inn. (reminds me of the modern day site of seeing folks at an airport, standing outside of customs, holding a sign with their parties' name on it)
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