The castle town of Kubota Castle has been hit by numerous fires since the Meiji period and has changed dramatically since then [Akita City, Akita Prefecture]

the Akita Domain(Kubota Domainmeticulously planned and built byThe Kubota Castleandcastle town, suffered heavy losses due to frequent large fires. Since the Meiji era, Kubota CastleSenshu Park, and the few remaining structures and the reconstructed main gate offer a glimpse into its former glory.

Within the castle town, the area around Kubota Castle and surrounded by an outer moat was the inner town where samurai and foot soldiers lived, and outside the outer moat was the tomachi, where townspeople ran their businesses. The role of the outer moat is played by the Asahi River, whose course was artificially altered

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The outer town was divided into sections based on the products sold

The castle town isSatake Yoshinobu, the first lord of the Akita domain, who simultaneously renovated the inner and outer towns, completing it around 1631. Yoshinobu invited merchants from Tsuchizaki Minato (Tsuchizaki Port, Akita City), a bustling port town located at the mouth of the Omono River and serving as the gateway to northern Akita, to the newly created outer town. A distinctive feature of the town is its layout, with districts grouped by the goods they dealt in, including Chamachi (tea town) and Omachi (large town), where the domain's official merchants lived, as well as Sakana-machi (fish town), Kome-machi (rice town), Kaji-machi (blacksmith town), and Teppo-machi (gun town). Omachi, the central district, was lined with kimono merchants, while Chamachi was home to general stores and hardware stores selling everything from food and seasonings to paper and tatami mats. These two districts also had money-related shops such as money changers, and were given a central role in the outer town.

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Tomachi was almost completely destroyed in the Tawaraya fire during the Meiji period

Kubota Castle, as well as the inner and outer towns, have suffered numerous major fires. Kubota Castle burned down in 1633, two years after its completion, and in 1650, it is said that as many as 2,000 houses in the castle town were destroyed. In a fire in 1880 (Meiji 13), almost all of the buildings in Kubota Castle, which had been rebuilt, were lost

Even in the outer town, there were several fires on the scale of 1,000 houses during the Edo period, butthe Tawaraya fireMeiji 19), as many as 3,500 houses burned down, and the entire town was reduced to a scorched earth.

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Geisha houses and tea houses that were burned down in the Tawaraya fire gathered in Kawabata and formed a red-light district

After the Tawaraya fire,Kawabata(Omachi 2-chome to 5-chome, Akita City), which was formerly part of the outer town. Located along the west bank of the Asahi River, which flows west of Kubota Castle, "Kawabata" means "riverside." Merchants who lost their shops in the Tawaraya fire, especially geisha houses and teahouses, relocated to Kawabata one after another, and many establishments where people could enjoy geisha entertainment gathered, transforming it into a geisha district.

Kawabata (Omachi) developed as the center of Akita City from the Meiji era onward, with the construction of the brickAkita Bank headquarters(now the Red Brick Local History Museum/National Important Cultural Property) in 1912 (Meiji 45). Currently, the place name "Kawabata" has disappeared and is unified under the name Omachi. Although most of the numerous restaurants and teahouses that once stood there have disappeared, the former Kawabata district is becoming increasingly lively as a bustling entertainment district lined with casual restaurants and bars. On the other hand, with the disappearance of the restaurants, the number of geishas, ​​which was around 150 in the early Showa period, has dwindled to just a few, making the area quite desolate.

Kawabata/Tomachi Promotion Association <Information>

• Facility name: Kawabata and Tonomachi Promotion Association
• Location: Omachi, Akita City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 018-827-5117
• URL:Kawabata/Tomachi Promotion Association
• access
  • Train: Take the bus from Akita Station on the Akita Shinkansen or Ou Main Line to Kawabata Iriguchi bus stop
  • By car: Approximately 20 minutes from Akita Chuo IC on the Akita Expressway

Google Map

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The brick building is a nationally designated important cultural property. Red Brick Local Museum (former Akita Bank Head Office)

The former Akita Bank headquarters in Kawabata was used as a bank until 1969, but has sincethe Akarenga Local History Museumbeen preserved and opened to the public as

The exterior of the Red Brick Museum is based on the Renaissance style, with Oga stone used for the foundation. The first floor is covered in white porcelain tiles, and the second floor is made of red brick, creating a beautiful contrast of red and white. The interior incorporates the Baroque style, and each room, including the staircase, is adorned with a different design, making it a magnificent and opulent space. The buildinga nationally designated important cultural property.

The Red Brick Museum displays documents related to the building, traditional Akita crafts such as silver filigree and Yatsuhashi dolls, and works by Akita-born artists such as printmaker Katsuhira Tokushi

Akarenga Folk Museum <Information>

• Facility name: Akarenga Local Museum (former Akita Bank Head Office)
• Address: 3-3-21 Omachi, Akita City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 018-864-6851
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:30
• Admission fee: Adults 210 yen (free for high school students and younger)
• Closed: December 29th to January 3rd
• URL:Akarenga Local History Museum
• access
  • Train: Take a bus from Akita Station on the Akita Shinkansen or Ou Main Line to Kawabata Iriguchi bus stop, then walk for about 1 minute
  • By car: Approximately 20 minutes from Akita Chuo IC on the Akita Expressway

Google Map

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The storehouse that survived the Tawaraya fire, the former Kaneko Residence, a merchant house from the Edo period

The former Kaneko Residence's storehouse is a valuable Edo-period building remaining in Akita City (the main house was destroyed in the Tawaraya fire and rebuilt in 1887). During the Edo period, it operated as a pawnshop and used clothing store, and from the Meiji era onwards, it dealt in kimono fabrics. Business continued in this building until 1982 (Showa 57), after which it was donated to Akita City. It is designated as an Akita City Tangible Cultural Property.

It is currently on display as part of the Folk Performing Arts Heritage Museum (Neburi Nagashi Hall), an exhibition and resource center established to preserve and pass on Akita City's traditional performing arts and folk events, including Kanto

Neburi-Nagashikan ＜Information＞

• Facility name: Former Kaneko Residence, Folk Performing Arts Museum (Neburi Nagashi Hall)
• Address: 1-3-30 Omachi, Akita City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 018-866-7091
• Opening hours: 9:30-16:30
• Closed: December 29th to January 3rd
• Admission fee: 100 yen (free for high school students and younger), 260 yen for the former Kaneko Residence (free for high school students and younger)
• URL:Former Kaneko Residence and Folk Performing Arts Transmission Hall (Neburi-nagashi Hall)
• access:
  • Train: Take the bus from Akita Station on the Akita Shinkansen or Ou Main Line to Neburi Nagashikan-mae or Torimachi bus stops (approx. 1 minute), then walk for approx. 15 minutes from Akita Station
  • By car: Approximately 20 minutes from Akita Chuo IC on the Akita Expressway

Google Map

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The only remaining water source from the Edo period: the Nawa Family Water Source

In Kawabata, the water used for daily life, excluding drinking water, was almost entirely from the Asahikawa River. Therefore, it is said that each of the inner and outer districts had a water-drawing station called a "kado."The Naba family's water-drawing stationwas used until the Meiji era. These stations were also used for loading and unloading goods from the river and were indispensable to people's lives, but nowadays, most have been lost due to riverbank construction, and this is the only remaining trace.

The Nawa family's water pumping fountain <Information>

• Facility name: Nawa family water pump
• Address: 3-1-6 Omachi, Akita City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 018-824-8686 (Akita City Tourist Information Center)
• URL:Naba family's water drawing place
• access:
  • Train: Take a bus from Akita Station on the Akita Shinkansen or Ou Main Line to Kawabata Iriguchi bus stop, then walk for about 1 minute
  • By car: Approximately 20 minutes from Akita Chuo IC on the Akita Expressway

Google Map

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