Running east to west across Hōki Town is an old road, the Izumo Kaidō. It linked San’in and San’yō, Izumo and Harima, and daimyō on their sankin-kōtai journeys, merchants, and travelers all passed along it. Beside that road, in Nibu in the former Mizoguchi area, there once stood a post town. This was Nibu-juku.
It sat at the position that connected travelers coming from the Yonago direction with Mizoguchi-juku. A place where travelers lodged, tethered their horses, and relayed their loads — or so it should have been. But in fact, when you look into Nibu-juku, the information available online is remarkably thin.
What we do know
- In the late Heian period, this area is said to have been governed by the Gotō clan [estimated]
- It seems there is a history of Fudō-in, a Tendai temple, relocating to Nibu
- On Hōki Town’s official website there is a local history record called “Izumo Kaidō Konjaku Monogatari”, which traces the course of the Nibu district from the domain era through to the present day. This looks like something we can rely on as a primary source
To put it another way, from here on this is territory we ought to go and verify in person — by seeing, and by asking. Does the post town’s lot layout survive in the shape of the road? What about old buildings and shop/house names? What stories do the people of the land still remember?
This is a theme we can “win by walking”
This site, “Hōki Gurashi,” is written by someone who lives here. The fewer materials there are online about a theme, the stronger it actually is. That’s because this is a place that can be filled in with on-site photographs and interviews — something you can’t write by copying and pasting from a tourism site.
Nibu-juku is exactly that kind of theme. So for now, this article is still just a skeleton. From here, we’ll walk, photograph, verify, and thicken it little by little.
- The village of Nibu — along the Izumo Kaidō. For the location, see the map (coordinates may be provisional)
A word from the rabbit: Doesn’t a place with little information make you a little excited? It means nobody got there first and wrote it all down. This one, from here on, we write with our feet.
References:
- Hōki Town official, “Izumo Kaidō Konjaku Monogatari”
- Toritabi, “Nibu-juku”
- *Descriptions of the Gotō clan and Fudō-in include tradition and conjecture. To be reinforced through on-site research.
