Origins and History of the Japanese Ryokan
The Japanese ryokan embodies many of the bestelements from the Japan of olden times, such as
culture, technology, art, and customs. Ryokans arethe place to go to experience the lifestyle treasured
and handed down by the Japanese people; staying
at a Japanese ryokan is surely the ideal way ofgetting to know the true 'Japan'.
The origins of the Japanese ryokan can be traced backto the so-called 'fuseya' of the Nara Period (710-784).
'Fuseya', which were free rest houses, are thought tohave been the first facilities in Japan for travelers staying
overnight. Back in those days, with transportation
facilities and traffic networks still undeveloped, travelingwas indeed perilous, for people had no choice but tosleep out under the stars. Large numbers of travelers
died of starvation by the roadside, and so Buddhist
monks who could no longer turn a blind eye set up the'fuseya'with the aim of assisting travelers. In particular,̲Gyoki, who later became a high priest, constructed roads
and bridges in dangerous locations, and also opened
nine 'fuseya' within Kinai or the Five Home Provincesaround Kyoto (namely Yamashiro in Kyoto, Yamato inNara, and Izumi, Settsu, and Kawachi in Osaka). The
Ritsuryo System (the historical legal system modeled
after that in China) was established, and acentralized state system was developed in the Nara
Period. It was around this period that roads leading
to the capital and umaya (public facilities fortravelers built along the main roads of the country
under the Ritsuryo System) were first constructed.
In the following Heian Period (794-1191), pilgrimages
to religious sites became popular among members ofo en manors
the imperial family and aristocrats, and Sh‐(private land owned by aristocrats, temples and shrines,
and also by powerful families of the provinces) andtemple buildings came to be used as lodging houses.
The accommodation facilities set up in the temple
precincts were open to religious devotees andworshippers, and later came to be called 'shukub‐o'(temple lodgings). These have been passed down totoday as lodging facilities open to the general public.

emerged the 'kichin-yado' (a cheap inn). This type ofinn came to be called 'kichin-yado' from the fact thatno meals were provided, with the traveler being
charged only the price of the wood used for fuel incooking his own meal. As the years went by and theEdo Period (1603-1867 ) arrived, highways wereconstructed and the money economy developed,
leading to frequent trips by merchants. To support
them, 'hatago' inns which also provided meals werenewly established. For a while, the 'hatago' and the'kichin-yado' existed side by side, but by the latter
half of the Edo Period, the 'hatago' inns had become
the mainstream. Meanwhile, the Shogunate (theJapanese feudal government) established a system
known as ' Sankin K‐o tai ' aimed at preventing theprovincial daimy‐o (feudal lords) from gaining too
much power and forcing them to swear a pledge ofallegiance, and consequently, the daimy‐o lords wereobliged to live in Edo or their domains in alternate
years. When traveling to or from Edo, the daimy‐
olord and his large entourage of attendants would
stay at a 'honjin' (a lodging officially designated fora daimyo) or 'waki-honjin' (secondary lodging for adaimy‐o ) located at shukueki and shukuba post towns
along the route. Assignments for providing 'honjin'
or 'waki-honjin' for the daimy‐o entourages weremostly entrusted to reputable families, temples andshrines, and the wealthy. Today, the 'hatago' inns
would probably correspond to ordinary ryokans,whereas the 'honjin' and 'waki-honjin' would beequivalent to deluxe ryokans, yet it appears that
there was a considerable gap between the twotypes of lodgings.

Then, with the Meiji Reformation, a trend toward
Westernization swept Japan, and the diffusion ofrailways brought radical changes to the way people
traveled. Instead of traveling mainly on foot, people
started to take the train as a means of transportation, and many ryokans were established nearrailway stations. Furthermore, the purpose of travel
broadened, such as traveling to a cooler place inthe summer or to a warmer place in the winter, oreven just for leisure, which led to the emergence ofnumerous ryokans in tourist spots and hot spring
resorts all over Japan.
The 'hatago' inns standing along the formerhighways declined, and the 'honjin' which were nol o n g e r u s e d b y d a i m y‐o lords remained only to
become historic sites. Nevertheless, the appeal andadvantages of the 'hatago' , which provided meals,
and the 'honjin' , where a unique culture based on
the spirit of hospitality was fostered, were passed
down as a part of traditional Japanese culture; they
formed the original model of the Japanese ryokan,
and laid the groundwork for the development of theJapanese ryokan.
From the latter half of the 1950s when post-war
Japan entered an age of rapid economic growth,
Japanese people became more affluent and began
to indulge in traveling, with recreational company
trips, group trips, and school trips becoming fixed
events in society. In line with this new trend, large
ryokans came to be built one after the other attourist sites and hot spring resorts. Having passed
through the era of mass transportation, we haveentered an age in which people prefer to visit
ryokans that are committed to improving quality
and that offer unique and attractive features. This
stems from the diversification of the purposes oftravel and of personal preferences. Globalization
has been underway for a while now, and ryokans,which are loved by Japanese people, are also now
enjoying increasing popularity among visitors fromoverseas.

During the Kamakura Period (1192-1333), there

In the Edo Period, moving freely from one place toanother was not officially permitted, but pilgrimages and visits of worship of a religious nature wereexceptions. Moreover, as regulations were not sorigid concerning short trips to hot springs for t‐o ji(hot spring cure) or sightseeing, a travel boomarose among the ordinary populace. At the popular
tourist sites and t‐o ji -ba (therapeutic hot springresorts), quite a number of the long-establishedinns later developed into ryokans and remain in
operation throughout the country today.

温泉旅館・昭和初期

木造建築の日本旅館

鉄筋コンクリート造の旅館

An onsen ryokan (ryokan with hot spring baths)- in early Showa .

A Japanese ryokan of wooden structure.

A Japanese ryokan of ferroconcrete structure.

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