Ogasawara clan
Honjō was the site of Honjō Castle, the stronghold of the Honjō clan since the Kamakura period. The Honjō were destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, and the territory came under the control of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who established in 10,000 "koku" Honjō Domain, which was ruled by the Ogasawara clan from 1698 to 1612. A "honjin" was built near the site of the old castle in the northern part of the castle town, which quickly redeveloped itself into a "shukuba". Due to the number of travelers, a second "honjin" was built at the opposite end of town in 1792.