Also hatago 旅篭. A common term for an inn from the late Heian to the early modern periods. In the ancient period, the term hatago referred to a bamboo basket or trunk, takekago 竹籠, used by travelers to store provisions, both for themselves and their horses, and utensils. At that time, it was common for travelers to hire only a lodging, yado 宿, and make their own meals from the food stored in their basket. The lodging house itself gradually came to be referred to as hatagoya. In the mediaeval period, such lodgings were used by individuals of all ranks: aristocrats, warriors, and commoners (though upper-class individuals generally rented the entire building, while ordinary people might share). In the Edo period, alternative facilities, notably high-class inns *honjin 本陣 and government-designated inns *wakihonjin 脇本陣, were provided for the use of the elite. Mainly were located in post towns *shukubamachi 宿場町, so the Edo period hatagoya thus catered primarily to commoners. They also began to provide meals for guests as a matter of course, and the alternative term kichinyado 木賃宿 came into use for the more basic boarding houses which did not offer meals. Hatago varied both in size and layout from district to district, but a widespread late Edo period arrangement had guest rooms (generally shared) upstairs, with the owner's living quarters and the kitchens below on the ground floor.