Official Inn - Kujiyado

In the Edo period, this was an inn that provided lodging for people who came to Edo for lawsuits, court cases, etc., and was contracted to supervise the proceedings. Outside Edo, there were many places called Go-yado (village inns). In Edo, they were roughly divided into travelers' inns and farmers' inns, both of which were also called Edo-yado (Edo inns). Travelers' inns were concentrated in the vicinity of Bakuro-cho, and they also provided lodging for ordinary people. Around 100 stock associations were organized, but less than half of them were mainly in the official business inns. Farmers' inns were prohibited from providing lodging for ordinary people, and they had strong ties with the Kanjo Bugyosho (official finance magistrate's office), so they were often located in Kanda and Nihonbashi. The main duties of official business inns were to prepare complaints for guests who had come to Edo for lawsuits, to represent them in legal proceedings, to deliver the meyasu-uragaki (guidelines) shown to the other party and the sashigami (letters) requesting their appearance in Edo, and to assist with lawsuits in Shirasu. In addition, because lawsuits often dragged on for a long time, the government often intervened to settle the cases.

[Michio Aoki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代、訴訟、裁判などで江戸へきた者を宿泊させ、訴訟指揮を請け負った旅宿のこと。江戸以外では郷宿(ごうやど)という所が多い。江戸では大別して旅人宿と百姓宿に分けられ、ともに江戸宿ともいった。旅人宿は馬喰(ばくろ)町近辺に集中し、一般人も旅宿させた。100人前後の株仲間が組織されていたが、公事宿を主にしていたのは半数以下であった。百姓宿は、一般人の旅宿は禁止され、公事方勘定奉行所(かんじょうぶぎょうしょ)とのかかわりが強かったので、神田や日本橋などに多かった。公事宿は、訴訟のために出府した宿泊者の訴状の作成、訴訟手続の代理、訴訟相手に示す目安裏書(めやすうらがき)と江戸への出頭を求める差紙(さしがみ)の送達、白州(しらす)での訴訟補佐などをおもな業務とした。このほか、訴訟が長期にわたることが多かったので、公事宿が仲裁に入って和解させてしまうこともしばしばあった。

［青木美智男］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例