Besides that, Hebe's strongest impression was that Kyoto's layout had become vastly different from that of Heian-kyō.
Heian-kyō had been divided into eastern and western sections. The eastern capital had been modeled after Cathay's Luoyang, while the western capital had been modeled after Chang'an. Later, the western capital was abandoned, while the eastern capital endured and continued expanding, eventually forming present day Kyoto.
The shogun was the highest ruler of the shogunate, as well as the leader and symbol of the warrior class. However, with her personally offline for such long periods, someone was always needed to handle administrative affairs in her stead. Thus, the position of "shogunate magistrate" emerged.
The daimyō continued fighting one another, but the object of their struggle had shifted from the shogun to the "magistrate."
Naturally, the Tokugawa clan emerged as the final victor once again. During the Edo period, in order to control the other daimyō, they invented the so-called "alternate attendance" system, requiring lords from every domain to come report their work progress at regular intervals.
In truth, the system mainly made it easier for the shogunate to keep the daimyō running around in circles—the less time they spent in their own domains, the less likely they were to rebel.
Thanks to that, the post stations along the roads saw tremendous development. The so-called hatagoya had become quite close to later inns, providing lodging and two meals, along with attendants.
Of course, if she had a choice, Hebe did not want to stay at a hatagoya.
The reason was simple. Hatagoya of this era usually provided gambling equipment and ran private casinos. Some even doubled as brothels.
Hebe spent some money to hire a local broker. Under the power of coin, the man worked very hard, but unfortunately, Hebe had not liked any