正條宿(Shojo inn town): a rare Tatami embarkment on the river bank

We’ve been tackling with inn towns that we’ve either rarely or never heard of. Shojo in Tatsuno city is another one.

Tatsuno is known for its castle town, which is one of Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Some of these examples are Takayama Sannomachi, Shirakawago, and Kurashiki Bikan district. 

However, Shojo inn town is way off south from Tatsuno castle town. Let’s find out what’s in from the overview. 


Until late 1800s, Ibo river(the river on the right side of the map) only had boat ride service, which was a part of Saigoku Kaido route.  This is west side of the boat ride pier. 
On the picture, you see a guardrail on the dike. This guardrail has an interesting structure. When the river water level rises up, you can slide tatami mattress from your home between the posts, in order to prevent flooding. This structure is relatively new, within the recent 100 years or so. Shojo is one of three places in Japan where you see this structure. 
On this street view, the house on the left looks new, but if you go further, you will know that this is a remodeled old house. 
Here at the corner, there is an old road sign that says “Himeji toward right, Tatsuno mountain toward left”. 
Iguchi honjin inn. There is a monument of Meiji emperor’s visit. 
Going further west. You can still see a bits of what old Shojo inn town used to look like. 
Shojo inn town was considered as one inn town with Katashima inn town, only 2km west. So both inn towns shared resources and personnel. 

JR Tatsuno station is the closest station. Note that there are more than two “Tatsuno stations” in JR group. So make sure you pick up the Chinese character 竜野. 



The next stop is Katashima inn town. 



References: 

Introduction for surrounding area of JR San’yo line Tatsuno station. Tatsuno station area urban development council.(The original title: JR山陽本線竜野駅周辺紹介　竜野駅周辺地区まちづくり協議会) https://tatsuno-saigoku.com/ (Accessed in 5/28/2025. In Japanese)

Tatami embarkment. Wikipedia.com(ウィキペディア・畳堤より) https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%95%B3%E5%A0%A4 (Accessed in 5/28/2025. In Japanese)

Tatsuno Tourist Association official home page. https://tatsuno-tourism.jp/ (Accessed in 5/28/2025. In Japanese)






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