Hondaniguchi Checkpoint Site
When the central government in Edo (present-day Tokyo) assumed direct control of Iwami Ginzan in the early 1600s, a fence was built around the silver mine and checkpoints established at all exits to regulate the flow of people and goods into and out of the mining area. The guards at these checkpoints were tasked with ensuring that taxes were paid on goods entering the mine, that silver destined for the government’s coffers was not smuggled out, and that only people authorized to work and/or live in the fenced-off zone entered it. There were 10 checkpoints around the central mining area and many more throughout the Ginzan Goryo, the area under direct government control, which encompassed some 150 nearby villages. Hondaniguchi oversaw the entrance to Hondani (“main valley”), one of the key mining centers at Iwami Ginzan until the late 1700s. Some of the mine’s most productive tunnels and shafts were in Hondani, and a significant number of miners and their families lived in this area. This made the twin checkpoints of Hondaniguchi and nearby Mizuochiguchi key nodes in the policing of the mine. Nothing remains of the checkpoint building, but a small mound by the road indicates its location.