Jinaicho (寺内町)

Jinaicho (also called Jinaimachi) refers to self-governing communities formed during the Muromachi period, which centered on the Buddhist temples of the Jodo Shinshu (the True Pure Land Sect of Buddhism) and training seminaries (gobo). They were characterized by the defense functions such as the surrounding moats and earthen walls for fortification, within which Buddhist devotees as well as merchants and traders lived together.

[Original Japanese]