The Ohashi Family and the Residence
The Family’s Rise to Wealth
During the late Edo period, the Ohashi family became one of Kurashiki’s major landowning families through the development of salt fields and reclaimed farmland. Together with the Ohara family, they formed part of an emerging wealthy class known as the Shinroku, which gained influence in the region.
One distinctive feature of the Ohashi Residence is the arrangement of its main house. Rather than facing directly onto the street, the main building stands behind a gate, separated from the road by a front courtyard. This unusual layout gives the property an imposing, dignified appearance and reflects the family’s elevated social standing.
Architecture and Cultural Heritage Designation
The two-story main house has a traditional Japanese tiled roof. Its first floor features Kurashiki-style wooden latticework, while the second floor has distinctive Kurashiki-style windows. The rice storehouse and inner storehouse are built using traditional earthen construction and feature namako-kabe walls, a decorative pattern of raised plaster joints that resembles sea cucumbers.
Together, these buildings preserve the characteristic layout of an affluent merchant’s estate from the Shinroku class and represent a classic example of traditional Kurashiki townhouse architecture. In 1978, four buildings—the main house, Nagayamon gate, rice storehouse, and inner storehouse—were designated Important Cultural Properties of Japan.
Preservation and Restoration
Between 1991 and 1995, the residence underwent an extensive preservation and restoration project that took three years and four months to complete. The work included dismantling the buildings in their entirety and restoring them to their appearance in 1851. This major undertaking brought back the architectural refinement and grandeur associated with the family’s period of prosperity.
The residence is now open to the public, allowing visitors to experience the atmosphere of a prosperous merchant household in historic Kurashiki.
The Historical Background of the Ohashi Family
Origins of the Family
According to family tradition, the ancestors of the Ohashi family were samurai who served the Toyotomi clan. After Osaka Castle fell in 1615, they are said to have lived in hiding near Gojo Ohashi Bridge in Kyoto. They later moved to Nakashima Village in Bitchu Province, now part of Nakashima in Kurashiki City, during the early Edo period. In 1705, the family settled in what is now Kurashiki.
Prosperity and Social Standing
For generations, the family used the name Nakashimaya Heiemon. Through the development of rice fields and salt fields, they became major landowners and expanded their wealth through financial services.
During the Tenpō famine of 1833–1836, the family donated 1,000 ryō to support relief efforts. In recognition of this contribution, they were granted the privilege of using a family surname. Their development of salt fields on Naoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture also earned them permission to carry swords, a privilege associated with higher social status. In 1861, a member of the family served as village headman of Kurashiki Village.
Architecture and Building History
Layout and Architectural Features
The residence is arranged with a row-style gate building facing the street and the main house set farther inside, beyond a front courtyard. Such an arrangement was unusual for an ordinary townhouse and is believed to reflect special permission granted by the Kurashiki magistrate’s office.
The main house features an irimoya-style roof, combining a gabled and hipped roof form, covered with traditional Japanese tiles. The building is multi-layered, with rooms and storage spaces incorporated into the roof structure. Its overall design reflects the status and prosperity of the family during the Edo period.
Construction and Restoration Records
Documents known as the Fushin Oboe, along with ridge plaques and inscriptions written in ink, indicate that the main parts of the residence were constructed between 1796 and 1799. Major renovations followed in 1807 and 1851.
The preservation work carried out from 1991 to 1995 restored the residence to its appearance in 1851. This careful restoration brought the buildings back to a period when the Ohashi family estate displayed its full grandeur.
Ohashi Sawasaburo and Kurashiki’s Industrial Development
Biography of Sawasaburo Ohashi
Sawasaburo Ohashi (1860–1889) was an entrepreneur from Okayama Prefecture, best known for his role in founding Kurashiki Boseki, a textile manufacturing company that contributed to the city’s industrial development. Born in 1860, he later entered the Ohashi family of Kurashiki Village as an adopted son-in-law.
With a strong understanding of economics and an interest in new ideas, Sawasaburo joined local influential figures in establishing a group known as the Chishiki Kōkankai, or Knowledge Exchange Society. In 1887, the group helped establish Kurashiki Boseki.
Founding Kurashiki Boseki
Sawasaburo played a central role in the establishment of Kurashiki Boseki and became one of its directors. However, he fell ill while the factory was still under construction and died in 1889 at the age of just 30.
Despite his short life, his efforts helped lay the foundations for Kurashiki’s development as an industrial center. His legacy links the history of the Ohashi merchant family with the emergence of modern industry in the city.