Post station - Shukueki

Japanese: 宿駅 - しゅくえき

A convenient point on a route where travelers could stay and where there were facilities for passing on the horses and men needed to transport luggage. Under the Ritsuryo system, stations were villages that were responsible for various duties related to station horses, and were located every 30 ri. There was a stationmaster to handle the affairs of the station, and station houses were established and were under the jurisdiction of the kokushi. With the collapse of the Ritsuryo system, they declined after the Heian period. The word "yado" originally meant "station house," and the name probably arose from the fact that travelers could stay there, but the station itself was also called "yado" and the stationmaster was called "yadochosha." This has been seen since the end of the Heian period, and after the Kamakura period, it was particularly noticeable along the Tokaido route, where there were said to be 50 to 60 inns. This was due to the prosperity of traffic between Kyoto and Kamakura, but many inns also appeared along the routes for pilgrimage to shrines and temples, including Ise Grand Shrine. In the Edo period, with the development of highways and side roads, post towns flourished, with head inns, side inns, wholesalers, and other establishments established in each post town. In some cases, there were even inns between the inns. In the Meiji period, the opening of railways completely changed the appearance of post towns.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

交通路の便利な地点で，旅人を宿泊させ，荷物の運搬に要する人馬を継立てる設備のあるところ。律令制下の駅は駅馬に関する各種の義務を負わされた里で，30里ごとにおかれ，駅の事務を行うため駅長がおり，駅家が設けられ，国司の管轄下にあった。律令制の崩壊とともに平安時代以降は衰退した。宿とは元来駅家のことで，旅人を止宿させるところからその名が生じたのであろうが，駅そのものをも宿といい，駅長を宿長者といった。このことは平安時代末期以来みられ，鎌倉時代以降，特に東海道筋には著しく，50～60の宿を数えたという。これは京，鎌倉の往還の盛況にもよったのであるが，別に伊勢神宮をはじめ，社寺の参詣の道筋にも多数現れた。江戸時代に入って，街道，脇往還の整備に伴い，宿場が盛行をきわめ，各宿場には本陣，脇本陣，問屋場その他が立並んだ。宿と宿の間に間の宿 (あいのしゅく) がおかれたこともある。明治になって，鉄道の開設によって宿駅の様相は一変した。

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