The Honjin were inns reserved solely for the members of the Imperial Court and the Daimyo, the samurai nobility who were required to attend the Shogun’s castle at regular intervals. Of the 53 original Honjin on the Tokaido, only two remain. One is at Futagawa-Shuku. Well over 200 years old, and recognized as a historically and culturally important structure, this elegant building provides a fascinating glimpse into the architecture, style and grace of the Edo period. The Honjin was only used by the elite. Lesser ranked lords stayed at the slightly lower ranked Waki-honjin. When a lord was in residence at the Honjin, large curtains featuring his family crest would be hung from the eves of the grand gates and main entrance way. Lower ranked samurai were billeted out to Hatagoya, local houses, sometimes even local temples when space was at a premium.

Hatogoya were lodgings for the common folk, merchants, craftsmen, pilgrims and lower ranked samurai. 38 Hatogoya once lined the Tokaido through Futagawa, however, being of lesser importance than the Honjin, very few examples of Hatogoya remain. The Seimeiya Hatagoya is one of those very few, and located alongside the equally important Futagawa Honjin. The Seimeiya dates back to 1817 and is built in the typical Hatogoya style, with an Omoya, or Main House up front, connected to a Tsugi no Ma or intermediate room, and an Oku-zashiki, being a rear room for special guests. The inn is also listed as a historically and culturally valuable property. While the lords staying at the Honjin would indicate their presence with crest emblazoned curtains, more affluent travelers would carry wooden name posts to display out front of the Hatogoya inns to inform passers by, particularly messengers, as to who was staying there.

Nearby both Futagawa's Honjin and Hatogoya is one of the few remaining traditional Komaya residences. The former Tamura home, consisting of eight structures, was originally an Edo period doctors’ practice, later being used as a rice dealer and finally a pawnshop, and now registered as a Tangible Cultural Asset since 2003. This too is a fine example of period architecture and design, and provides a feel of Edo period merchant lifestyles.
More information on the lodgings and the lives of the travelers along the Tokaido can be found in the fascinating Futagawa-Shuku Museum, opened in 1991, directly behind the two old inns. Regular and special displays explain the importance of the route, and the role the post towns played in spreading information and culture throughout Japan.
Although you can no longer stay at either the Honjin or Hatagoya, you can enjoy old style hospitality with a cup of green tea and Japanese wagashi sweets while enjoying a view of the garden from a traditional room in the Seimeiya's Omoya main house, and the architecture, history and the atmosphere of samurai period Japan at the Futagawa-Shuku Honjin at Toyohashi. If you’re in Japan in October, you may even see the Daimyo samurai procession reenactments, bringing the old Tokaido back to historical life.