御着宿(Gochaku inn town): young Masataka Kuroda’s life is packed here

 I had no idea about what’s in Gochaku until I found out that this area was governed by Kodera clan during battlefield era(late 15th - 16th centuries). And the most famous figure in this area spend his youth in Gochaku. He was one of lord Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s strategists, as well as a distinct Christian samurai: Yoshitaka “Don Simeon” Kuroda, aka Kanbei Kuroda. 

Anyway, let’s check out the overview map of Gochaku inn town. JR Gochaku station is on the west side of Gochaku inn town, about 9-10 minutes walk.  
This part of Saigoku Kaido is probably not a part of the inn town, but the street already creates the atmosphere of an old route. 
There is an altar on the ground called Sainokami. I could not find any info online. 
This is the entrance of Fukujoji temple. I looked up in Japanese and English, only to find out there is no data. It means, I should visit some day. 
Old houses continue. One of blogs said that some of these houses are registered as Himeji city treasures. 
I don’t really want to compare with other inn towns on Saigoku Kaido, but by far, Gochaku is the best. 
This is probably one of the most fun places in Gochaku. On the left of the street view, there is Otoshi shrine. The year of establishment is unknown, and the shrine has been called as 大歳大明神(Otoshi-daimyojin: Otoshi great shining deity) by the locals. The imperial army of Japan donated a picture of horses to this shrine. 
The gate straight at the center of the street view is Enmeiji temple of Tendai sect. It was established some time between 834-848. The temple was burned by lord Nobunaga Oda’s son, Nobutada, during the battle of Gochaku castle in 1579. In 1885, emperor Meiji stopped by here. 

This part preserves the old Gochaku inn town well. 
Bear left and right. Probably this structure is to slow down enemy against Tokugawa shogunate. 
Former Gochaku honjin VIP inn. Gochaku was apparently an unofficial inn town. However, the stretch between Okubo and Himeji was so long that people decided to build another inn town here. Today, this is a community hall. 





Only a couple of blocks north, you can get to former Gochaku castle, where young Kanbei Kuroda spent. Kidders clan was dominating this area in late 1500s, however, they were eventually conquered by Oda clan. 
The red circle on the right side is Ninomaru gate, and the one on top above the gate is the castle museum. 
Here is another temple, Tokushoji temple. One of bloggers mentioned that this temple was one of the most important temples in this area and was relocated by Kodera clan. But I could not find any other resources to support this blogger. This is one of places that I should visit. 
It looks like this is the end of Gochaku inn town.  
There are other historical attractions around this area, so check out the Google map. 
Next, we are entering Himeji castle town. 










References: 

Gochaku castle. Kojodan.(The original title: 御着城　攻城団) https://kojodan.jp/castle/204/memo/4324.html (Accessed in 5/20/2025)

Himeji Film Commission Mail Magazine number 12. 2009. https://www.himeji-kanko.jp/fc/article.php?eid=00072 (Accessed in 5/20/2025 In Japanese) 

Himeji Kanko Navi “Himenomichi”. Himeji Convention and Visitors Bureau. https://www.himeji-kanko.jp/pamphlet/page/2 (Leaflet page in Japanese. Accessed in 5/20/2025)

Otoshi shrine. Hyogo Prefectural Associations of Shinto Shrines. (The original title: 大歳神社　兵庫県神社庁) https://www.hyogo-jinjacho.com/data/6316195.html (Accessed in 5/21/2025 In Japanese only)

Yoshitaka Kuroda. Wikipedia.com https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuroda_Yoshitaka (Accessed in 5/21/2025)











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