Kawashima Family Residence (Samurai House)

I had a great time listening to him explain about the lifestyle, buildings, and city of the time with great interest. The building itself has been left in good condition and you can get a glimpse of what life was like back then. Above all, the guide seemed to be having fun explaining things, which was very impressive and made me feel comfortable.

As it is a samurai residence, it seems to be a large mansion with quite a number of rooms. Also, the stairs were quite narrow and steep. You can understand the living conditions of the past.

I was able to see the old official's house. Even the steep stairs give it the feel of an old building. Although the garden was small, it was beautiful.

I also stopped by the former Kawashima family residence. It is also the only samurai residence that has been opened to the public to tell the story of the lives of senior samurai, and is the remains of a magistrate official built in the early 1800s. The Kawashima family moved to Omori for generations, managing the silver mine and controlling the silver mine territory. The house has a gate facing the street, and when you pass through the gate, you can see the main house with a formal entrance. The main house looks like a one-story building, but there is a second floor above the dirt floor and storage room, and the guest room faces the garden. It was designated as a designated ruin by Ota City in 1993 because it clearly represents the stance of a senior samurai and the residence of a silver mine official. When the main house was rebuilt, the heads of the family were the fifth generation Tokubei and the sixth generation Saburoemon. Saburoemon, said to be the founder of the Kawashima family's revival, was allowed to succeed his father Tokubei in 1808, and was appointed a silver mine official with 30 bales of cut rice and three people to support. In 1810, he was appointed to the position of Yamakata-gake, and eventually worked his way up to the head of the group, before passing away in 1858. Furthermore, it appears that documents related to a foreign ship that washed ashore at Oura Minato (Isotake-cho, Ota City) in 1857 were found in the underlayment of the fittings used in the main house. At this time, Saburoemon seems to have transported foreigners who had drifted ashore to Nagasaki.

There is an admission fee, but this is a rare place where photography is allowed. You can see furniture, tableware, and gardens from the days when it flourished as a silver mining town. You can also climb the stairs that double as a chest of drawers, and armor and other items are on display at the top. There are no handrails and the path is steep, so those with weak legs should be careful.