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{{Short description|Post stations of Japan in the Edo period}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2024}}
{{italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
[[File:Tsumago 2009 5.JPG|thumb|[[Nakasendō]]'s [[Tsumago-juku]]]]
{{nihongo|'''''Shukuba'''''|宿場}} were [[Stage station|staging post stations]] during the [[Edo period]] in [[Japan]], generally located on one of the [[Edo Five Routes]] or one of its sub-routes. They were also called ''shuku-eki'' (宿駅). These stage stations, or "{{nihongo|stage station towns|宿場町|shukuba-machi}}" developed around them, were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i0ni1NmbYe0C|title=Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan|author=William E. Deal|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|isbn=9780195331264|pages=61}}</ref> They were created based on policies for the transportation of goods by horseback that were developed during the [[Nara period|Nara]] and [[Heian period|Heian]] periods.
==History==
[[File:Magome 2009 5.JPG|thumb|Nakasendō's [[Magome-juku]]]]
These stations were first established by [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] shortly after the end of the [[Battle of Sekigahara]]. The first stations were developed along the [[Tōkaidō (road)|Tōkaidō]] (followed by stations on the [[Nakasendō]] and other routes). In 1601, the first of the Tōkaidō's [[53 Stations of the Tōkaidō|fifty-three stations]] were developed, stretching from [[Shinagawa-juku]] in [[Edo]] to [[Ōtsu-juku]] in [[Ōmi Province]]. Not all the post stations were built at the same time, however, as the last one was built in 1624.
The lodgings in the post stations were established for use by public officials and, when there were not enough lodgings, nearby towns were also put into use. The post station's ''[[toiyaba]]'', ''[[honjin]]'' and sub-''honjin'' were all saved for the public officials. It was hard to receive a profit as the proprietor of these places, but the ''[[shōgun]]'' provided help in the form of various permits, [[rice]] collection and simple money lending, making it possible for the establishments to stay open. The ''[[hatago]]'', retail stores, [[tea house]]s, etc., which were designed for general travelers, were able to build a profit. ''[[Ai no shuku]]'' were intermediate post stations; though they were unofficial resting spots, they had many of the same facilities.
Generally speaking, as the [[Meiji period]] arrived and brought along the spread of [[rail transport]], the number of travelers visiting these post stations greatly declined, as did the prosperity of the post stations.
==Post station facilities==
[[File:SPHFM04s3200.jpg|thumb|[[Samegai-juku]]'s ''toiyaba'']]
[[File:Kusatsujuku-honjin Kusatsu Shiga Pref01s3s4500.jpg|thumb|[[Kusatsu-juku]]'s ''honjin'']]
[[File:Oohasiya Inn.jpg|thumb|[[Akasaka-juku (Tōkaidō)|Akasaka-juku]]'s ''hatago'']]
[[File:Hirafuku kawabata02s2400.jpg|thumb|Hirafuku-shuku's ''Kawabata'']]
* ''[[Tonya (Japan)|Ton'yaba]]'' (問屋場): General offices that helped manage the post town.
* ''[[Honjin]]'' (本陣): Rest areas and lodgings built for use by [[samurai]] and court nobles. ''Honjin'' were not businesses; instead, large residences in the post towns were often designated as lodging for government officials.
* ''Waki-honjin'' (脇本陣): These facilities were also for use by samurai and court nobles, but general travelers could also stay here if there were vacancies.
* ''[[Hatago]]'' (旅籠): Facilities that offered accommodations to general travelers and also served food.
* ''[[Kichin-yado]]'' (木賃宿): Facilities that offered accommodations to general travelers, but did not serve food.
* ''[[Ochaya|Chaya]]'' (茶屋): Rest areas that sold tea, food and alcohol to travelers.
* Shops: General shops built to sell wares to travelers.
* ''[[Kōsatsu]]'' (高札): Signboards on which the [[shōgun]]'s proclamations were posted.
==Preserved and rebuilt post stations==
*Nationally designated Architectural Preservation Sites
**[[Aizu Nishi Kaidō]]'s [[Ōuchi-juku]] ([[Shimogō, Fukushima|Shimogō]], [[Minamiaizu District, Fukushima|Minamiaizu District]], [[Fukushima Prefecture]])
**[[Hokkoku Kaidō]]'s Unno-juku ([[Tōmi, Nagano|Tōmi]], [[Nagano Prefecture]])
**[[Nakasendō]]'s [[Narai-juku]] ([[Shiojiri, Nagano|Shiojiri]], Nagano Prefecture)<ref name="kisoji">[https://web.archive.org/web/20021121124950/http://www.localinfo.nagano-idc.com/kiso/syukuba/narai/index.html Kisoji Shukuba-machi Series: Narai-juku]. {{in lang|ja}} Higashi Nihon Denshin Denwa. Accessed July 24, 2007.</ref>
**Nakasendō's [[Tsumago-juku]] ([[Nagiso, Nagano|Nagiso]], Nagano Prefecture)
**[[Tōkaidō (road)|Tōkaidō]]'s [[Seki-juku (Tōkaidō)|Seki-juku]] ([[Kameyama, Mie|Kameyama]], [[Mie Prefecture]])<ref name="mietourism">[http://welcome.kankomie.or.jp/english/search/spot.php?act=dtl&id=28 Mie Tourism Guide: Ancient Tokaido Seki-juku]. Mie Prefecture. Accessed November 29, 2007.</ref>
**[[Saba Kaidō]]'s [[Kumagawa-shuku]] ([[Wakasa, Fukui|Wakasa]], [[Mikatakaminaka District, Fukui|Mikatakaminaka District]], [[Fukui Prefecture]])
*[[Inaba Kaidō]]'s Hirafuku-shuku ([[Sayō, Hyōgo|Sayō]], [[Sayō District, Hyōgo|Sayō District]], [[Hyōgo Prefecture]])
*Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku ([[Mimasaka, Okayama|Mimasaka]], [[Okayama Prefecture]])
*Inaba Kaidō's Chizu-shuku ([[Chizu, Tottori]], [[Yazu District, Tottori|Yazu District]], [[Tottori Prefecture]])
*[[Nagasaki Kaidō]]'s Koyanose-juku ([[Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyūshū]], [[Fukuoka Prefecture]])
*Nagasaki Kaidō's Uchino-shuku ([[Iizuka, Fukuoka|Iizuka]], Fukuoka Prefecture)
*Nagasaki Kaidō's Shiota-shuku ([[Ureshino, Saga|Ureshino]], [[Saga Prefecture]])
*Tōkaidō's [[Ishibe-juku]] ([[Konan, Shiga|Konan]], [[Shiga Prefecture]])
==Cultural heritage==
[[File:Hiroshige48 seki.jpg|thumb|220x220px|The 47th Station: Early departure from the inn at the [[Seki-juku (Tōkaidō)|shukuba of Seki]]]]
Many shukuba are preserved as cultural heritage. They are also often the subjects of [[Ukiyo-e]], such as in ''[[The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō]]'' by [[Hiroshige]].
==See also==
*''[[Ai no shuku]]'', rest areas along historical routes in Japan
*[[Caravanserai]], Middle Eastern equivalent of ''Shukuba''
*[[Edo Five Routes]], five major Edo period roads
*''[[Hatago]],'' lodgings for ''Shukuba'' travelers
*''[[Honjin]],'' resting area for pre-modern Japanese government officials
*[[Inn]], Western European equivalent of ''Shukuba''
*''[[Kaidō]]'', Edo period roads
*[[Ryokan (inn)|''Ryokan'']], Japanese rest areas
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{commonscat-inline|Shukuba}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukuba}}
[[Category:Edo period]]
[[Category:Road transport in Japan]]
[[Category:Post stations in Japan|*]]