[Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture] Tsuruoka's silk textile industry was created by replacing the sword with a hoe

Japan Heritage “Silk related to the samurai ~ To Tsuruoka, a town where you can encounter the original scenery of Japan’s modernization ~”

In Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, there are three mountains of worship: Mt. Gassan, Mt. Haguro, and Mt. Yudono, known as the Dewa Sanzan. There are three Japanese heritage sites: ``ports of call'' and ``silk related to samurai.'' There are many historical and cultural heritage sites, and the temples around Mt. Yudono and Nangakuji Temple enshrine a total of four sokushinbutsu, which are rare in Japan.

Furthermore, Tsuruoka City has a food culture that is rare in the world and must be preserved for the future, such as vegetarian cuisine born from the Dewa Sanzan faith, unique Shonai crops and local cuisine cultivated since the Shonai domain era. It was the first place in Japan to be selected as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. There are also hot springs, fruits, scenery, and much more.

Here, the samurai of the former Shonai domain replaced their swords with hoes, cleared the mountain forests, and started sericulture. ``Silk related to the samurai - Visit Tsuruoka, the town where you can encounter the original landscape of Japan's modernization.'' Introducing the story of ~.

During the Edo period, Tsuruoka was ruled by the Sakai clan of the Shonai domain.

Tsuruoka was under the control of the Muto clan (Daihoji clan) from the Kamakura period until just before the Edo period. The Muto clan perished in 1591, and the Uesugi clan's warlord Naoe Kanetsugu temporarily entered Daihoji Castle, but in 1601 it became the domain of Yoshiaki Mogami, the lord of Yamagata Castle. Ta. Yoshimitsu changed the name of his castle to Tsurugaoka Castle, but in 1622, Tadakatsu Sakai became the lord and established the Shonai clan. After that, the Sakai clan ruled Tsuruoka as the Shonai domain until the Meiji Restoration.

Samurai who lost their jobs during the Meiji Restoration threw away their swords and replaced them with hoes, and cleared the mountain forests into mulberry fields.

With the Meiji Restoration, the Edo shogunate system came to an end, and the Meiji government shifted to a centralized political system. The clans that controlled local territories lost their power, and many samurai lost their jobs. Some high-ranking samurai were employed as "civil servants" such as officials in counties and towns and villages that were established in various regions, but most of the lower-ranking samurai became unemployed.

The Meiji government was concerned about this and encouraged former samurai to cultivate the land. As a result, many projects have been carried out across the country, including the development of Hokkaido, the cultivation of the Asaka Plains in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture (Japanese Heritage site ``Asaka Sosui''), the tea plantations of Shizuoka Prefecture, and the cultivation of the Inbanuma region of Chiba Prefecture. A new cultivated area has been created.

“Tsuruoka Silk” began at “Matsugaoka Cultivation Field”

The Shonai clan, along with the Aizu clan, fought against the Meiji government forces during the Boshin War (1868-1869), a conflict between the Meiji government and the Edo shogunate. The result was a victory for the Meiji government forces, and the warriors of the Shonai domain were given the stigma of being ``bandits.'' The desire to clear that stigma united former feudal retainers and became the driving force behind Tsuruoka's silk industry, which began with the cultivation of mulberry fields in the mountains.

Cultivation of Matsugaoka began in 1872 (Meiji 5), just three years after the end of the Boshin War. Over 3,000 former feudal retainers rushed to clear the land. At that time, in Tsuruoka, there was almost no cultivation of mulberries, which were used as food for the silkworms that produced silk thread, the raw material for silk. Therefore, it was decided to start by creating a mulberry field.

The cultivation of the Matsugaoka Cultivation Field began with the help of former Shonai clan samurai. It is said that his strong belief that he wanted to clear his name gave him the strength to serve. Land cultivation was carried out by impoverished former samurai all over the country, but there is no other example like the Matsugaoka Cultivation Field.

Once the mulberries grow smoothly, the next step is to grow silkworms. In 1877 (Meiji 10), the silkworm room was completed. The silk thread that was subsequently harvested was turned into silk textiles, and Tsuruoka began a full-fledged textile industry that continues to this day.

``Matsugaoka Cultivation Field'' is located on a site of approximately 7,200 tsubo (23,950 m2) and is located in the main building (management office/formerly the first feudal lord of the Me-Shonai domain, Tadakatsu Sakai), which was relocated from Fujishima Village (Fujishima, Tsuruoka City) in the 5th year of the Meiji era. The temporary palace [Takahata Goten]) / Matsugaoka Honjin), the Sericulture Inari Shrine (Matsugaoka Sericulture Inari Shrine) relocated from Tokyo in 1898, and the 10 large buildings built from 1891 to 1899. Among the silkworm rooms, five three-story buildings (sericulture rooms 1 to 5) remain as they were when they were constructed. Each building is preserved and open to the public, and some of the silkworm rooms are used as learning and experience facilities such as the Matsugaoka Cultivation Memorial Hall and the Silk Mirai Hall. The Matsugaoka Cultivation Field is designated as a national historic site, including the main shrine and five Jamsil buildings.

Matsugaoka Cultivation Field<Information>

• Facility name: Matsugaoka cultivation field
• Address: 25,28,29 Matsugaoka, Haguro-machi, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture
• Phone number: 0235-62-3985
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:00
• Closed: Wednesdays (the next day if Wednesday is a holiday), December 29th - January 3rd
• Free admission (charges apply for Matsugaoka Honjin and Matsugaoka Cultivation Memorial Hall)
  • *"Matsugaoka Honjin" opening hours: 10:00-15:00 / Opening period: Mid-April to mid-November / Admission fee: 100 yen, free for junior high school students and younger)
• URL: Matsugaoka Cultivation Field

Google Maps

"Matsugaoka Cultivation Memorial Hall" exhibits records and materials of Matsugaoka cultivation.

The Matsugaoka Cultivation Memorial Museum is the first of five silkworm rooms built in the early Meiji period, and contains materials and videos that show the history of Matsugaoka cultivation, sericulture tools, and the subsequent history of silk textile production in Tsuruoka. Introducing.

Matsugaoka Reclamation Memorial Hall<Information>

• Facility name: Matsugaoka Cultivation Memorial Hall (Matsugaoka Cultivation Field Ichiban Silkworm Room)
• Phone number: 0235-62-3985
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:00
• Closed: Wednesdays (the next day if Wednesday is a holiday), December 29th - January 3rd
• Admission fee: General 300 yen, free for junior high school students and under
• URL: Matsugaoka Reclamation Memorial Museum

Silk Mirai Hall, a new hands-on facility opened in Jamsil No. 4

The ``Silk Mirai Hall'' uses the No. 4 silkworm room, and has a video that introduces the process from sericulture to silk fabric production, an experience corner for hand-weaving and spinning, and a silk product shop. The new exhibition facility reopened in April 2022, and exhibits and rears silkworms for a limited time in June and September every year (please inquire).

Silk Mirai Hall<Information>

• Facility name: Silk Mirai Hall (Matsugaoka Cultivation Field No. 4 Silkworm Room)
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:00
• Closed: Wednesdays, December 29th - January 31st
• Admission fee: Free

A multi-story private house in Tamumata that was remodeled for sericulture

Sericulture in the Tsuruoka area has been carried out since the Meiji period on rice cultivation along the Rokujuri Goe Kaido, a mountain road that ran from Yamagata City through the foothills of Mt. Gassan and Mt. Yudono to the Tsuruoka area. It has also become popular in the Tamugimata area.

During the Edo period, Tamumata was very popular as a post station for worshipers of Mt. Yudono, but after the Meiji Restoration, visits to Mt. Yudono declined and it became completely deserted. Therefore, sericulture was introduced. In order to raise silkworms, a warm room is needed all day long, so people often use the second floor of their homes as a sericulture room, where the warm air from the hearth circulates. Because they were built inside the house, a tall building with four layers and three stories was built: the first floor was the homeowner's residence, the second floor was the servants' quarters, the third floor was the sericulture room, and above that was the store room. Ta. Furthermore, the second and third floors also needed windows for ventilation and light, which led to the creation of a multi-story private house with a unique thatched roof known as Kabutozukuri.

A representative multi-story private house in Tamumata and a nationally important cultural property, the “Former Shibuya Family Residence”

The ``Former Shibuya Family Residence'' is a 4-layer, 3-story private house located in Tamamumata, which was relocated to the ``Chido Museum'' and is now preserved and open to the public. The original private house was built in 1822, and is said to have been remodeled and renovated for the purpose of sericulture, becoming a multi-story private house with a thatched roof. Its precious and beautiful appearance has been designated as a national important cultural property.

The Chido Museum is a former official residence of the Sakai family, the lords of the Shonai domain, which has been opened to the public as a museum.The premises include the relocated ``former Shibuya family residence,'' ``former Nishitagawa district office,'' and ``former Tsuruoka police station building.'' It is an indispensable facility for learning about the history and culture of Tsuruoka City, with exhibits of nationally important cultural properties, the former Shonai feudal lord's palace, the Sakai Garden, and important tangible folk cultural properties. "Former Shibuya Family Residence," "Former Nishitagawa District Office," and "Former Shonai Domain Lord Goinden" are cultural properties that make up "Samurai Silk."

Chido Museum<Information>

• Facility name: "Former Shibuya Family Residence", "Former Nishitagawa District Office", "Former Shonai Domain Lord Goinden" (permanently exhibited at the "Chido Museum")
• Address: Chido Museum, 10-18 Yanakashinmachi, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture
• Phone number: 0235-22-1199
• Facility name: Chido Museum
• Opening hours:
  • March-November/9:00-17:00 (Admission until 16:30)
  • December - February / 9:00 - 16:30 (Admission until 16:00)
• Closed: December 28th to January 4th, Wednesdays (December to February)
• Admission fee: General 800 yen, High school and university students 700 yen, Elementary and junior high school students 300 yen
• URL: Chido Museum

Google Maps

The main building of the Kazama family, a wealthy merchant family that contributed to the development of Tsuruoka silk.

The Kazama family was a wealthy merchant who made a fortune as a merchant for the Shonai clan, but after the Meiji Restoration, they turned to money lending and supported the silk textile industry, contributing to its development.

The former Kazama family residence "Heishindo" was a residence and store built by the seventh generation head of the Kazama family, Koemon, in 1896 (Meiji 29), and about 40,000 stones were placed in it. Features a stone roof. This building, named ``Heishin-do,'' is designated as a national important cultural property (the name of the cultural property is ``Former Kazama House Main Building''). In addition, the bathhouse, small parlor, front warehouse, middle warehouse, and back warehouse on the premises are all important cultural properties of the country, and the former Kazama family annex, Muryokoan Shakado, is a registered tangible cultural property of the country.

Former Kazama family<Information>

• Facility name: Former Kazama family (former Kazama family residence "Heishindo", etc.)
• Address: 1-17 Baba-cho, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture
• Phone number: 0235-22-0015
• Opening period: Mid-April to November (closed in winter from December to mid-April)
• Opening hours: 9:30-16:30 (admission until 16:00)
• Closed: July 13th, December to early April
• Admission fee: 400 yen for adults, 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students
• URL: Former Kazama family residence

Google Maps

``Shonai Domain School Chidokan'' whose teachings had a great influence on land cultivation projects

``Shonai Domain School Chidokan'' is a domain school founded in 1805 by Sakai Tadanori, the 7th lord of the Shonai domain. The school was closed in 1873 (Meiji 6), but the educational spirit known as ``Soraigaku,'' which valued independence and cultivated the strengths of each individual, is said to have had a great influence on land cultivation projects. It is said. It is a national historic site. A cultural property that constitutes "Silk related to Samurai".

Chidokan<Information>

• Facility name: Shonaihan School Chidokan
• Address: 11-45 Baba-cho, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture
• Phone number: 0235-23-4672
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:30
• Closed: Wednesdays (the next day if Wednesday is a holiday), December 29th - January 3rd
• Admission fee: Free
• URL: Shonai Domain School Chidokan

Google Maps

“Uzen Kinunen” has been dedicated to Tsuruoka silk since the Meiji era.

Uzen Kenren Co., Ltd. is a silk fabric refining company founded in 1906 (Meiji 39). Textile scouring is the process of finalizing products woven at textile factories into finished products, and it has greatly contributed to the high reputation of Tsuruoka silk fabrics. Except for during World War II, when operations were suspended, silk fabrics have been refined using kettles, which has been going on since the company's founding.

Uzen silk training<Information>

• Facility name: Uzen Kinunen Co., Ltd.
• Address: 21-1 Shinkai-cho, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture
• Phone number: 0235-24-1300
• URL: Uzen Kinunen

Google Maps

Tsuruoka silk mail order

Tsuruoka Silk<Information>

• Distributor: Tsuruoka Silk Co., Ltd.
• Website: kibiso