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Culture/History

Walk, see, listen, and taste. Enjoy the history and charm of Odawara with all five senses!

歩いて、みて、きいて、味わって。小田原の歴史と魅力を五感で堪能!

Go, see and feel the world of art
File.27 Odawara City Town Museum
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)

Odawara developed as a castle town and since the Edo period has been a transportation hub where various people, goods, and cultures come and go. It's a town full of amazing things, such as when you're casually walking around, a building that looks like a cultural property suddenly appears, and it's apparently open for business.
At the Machikado Museum, you can walk around and experience historical assets that cannot be contained in a glass case. I took a leisurely walk with a guidebook published by Odawara City in hand.

First, go to the Odawara Ekimae Umeboshi Museum , the main branch of Chinriu, which is a 3-minute walk from the east exit of Odawara Station.
The origin of the restaurant was Chinryutei, which opened in Odawara City in 1871, and later, when Odawara Station opened, the store was relocated in front of the station and became Chinryutei. It is a shop specializing in umeboshi, which has been renamed ``Riu Honten''.

At the back of the store, there are pickle barrels used in the early Meiji era and registers from the 1900s. That alone makes you feel the weight of history.

The highlight is the lined-up collection of pickled plums. The oldest one is dated to 1834, which is surprising. I would like to find the ``Birth Year Umeboshi'' from the year I was born.

There was a ``Umeboshi Quiz'' prepared as a small event, so I decided to try it out.
The trick is to smell and taste umeboshi to determine how the flavor changes depending on how they are made and how old they are, but this is surprisingly difficult. It seems that one quiz participant will win a gift every month, so be sure to give it a try.

Chinriu Main Store《Odawara Station Square Umeboshi Museum》
[Address] 1-2-1 Sakaemachi, Odawara City
[TEL] 0120-30-4951
[Opening hours] 9:00-18:00
[Closed] January 1st
* Click here for the official homepage!

Next up is Ejima's Wagami Tea House.
The first generation started business in Odawara in 1661. At first, it was said that the salt industry was carried out by the seaside. In response to the needs of the times, they started selling washi paper, and tea became their main product after they brought back tea, a specialty product, from Suruga and Totomi, where they went to paper peddlers.
The current building was rebuilt by the 15th generation owner, Heihachi Eshima, from a store that was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake. The ``Dashigeta-zukuri'' structure with an overhanging eaves is said to be a tradition of merchant houses in Odawara.

The interior of the store has been renovated to make it earthquake resistant, but the museum area is still worth seeing. On display are a deerskin happi coat made to commemorate the restoration from the earthquake and the completion of the building, as well as a tea kettle used by Masuda Masuda, a famous tea master.

The main product is tea, but the Japanese crafts corner is lined with Japanese paper from all over the country, and it's fun just looking at it.

Ejima《Wakami Tea House》
[Address] 2-13-7 Sakaemachi, Odawara City
[TEL] 0465-22-1611
[Opening hours] 9:30-18:30
[Regular holiday] Wednesday

For lunch, we headed to the Daruma restaurant ``Noren and Taste Museum.''
Founded in 1893. The original store was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake, but it was rebuilt using the abundant funds obtained from the big catch of yellowtail. The building, which has a Karahafu gambrel structure, is designated as a nationally registered tangible cultural property.

You can feel free to use the dining room on the first floor without making a reservation, so you can enjoy your meal while enjoying the view. The building was built by hand by first-class craftsmen, making generous use of high-quality Japanese cypress, pine, and zelkova purchased from local lumberyards, and everything from the walls to the ceiling looks like a work of art.

When talking about Daruma Restaurant's specialty, many people mention horse mackerel sushi, but we also recommend the ``tendon'' that has been around since the restaurant's founding. The tempura sauce, which is never sold outside the store, is a masterpiece that is typical of a long-established store, and the flavor has been preserved by adding more water.

One room is open to the public as the ``Machicorne Museum,'' so please ask the shop staff to show you around. It has a stylish atmosphere that is a little different from the atmosphere of a dining room, and it is said that it is still used as a reception room for meetings.

On display are photographs of the legendary yellowtail landing, as well as a brazier used by author Chotaro Kawasaki.

Daruma Restaurant《Museum of Noren and Taste》
[Address] 2-1-30 Honmachi, Odawara City
[TEL] 0465-22-4128
[Opening hours] 11:00-20:00
[Closed] January 1st to 3rd
* Click here for the official homepage!

Ishikawa Shikki's ``Lacquer and Utensils Gallery'' is a place where you can experience Odawara lacquerware, which was created during the Muromachi period.
The Ishikawa family, who had been working as spear painters for the Odawara clan since the Edo period, founded their workshop in 1887. We are particular about using domestically produced materials, and handle everything from woodworking to painting.

Inside the store, there are also on display the spears and tools left behind by the Okubo clan's spear painters.
Although the exterior of the store has been transformed into a building, the interior seems to have a long history still alive.

Since lacquerware is a natural product, it can get damaged with use. On that point, Odawara lacquerware can be repainted as many times as you like, so please consult with the store about maintaining your precious ware.

Ishikawa Lacquerware《Lacquer/Utensils Gallery》
[Address] 1-19-16-102 Sakaemachi, Odawara City
[TEL] 0465-22-5414
[Opening hours] 10:00-18:00
[Regular holiday] Wednesday
* Click here for the official homepage!

I would also like to take a look at the Matsuzakiya pottery shop ``Tosai Gallery'', which is connected to pottery.
From the outside, it looks like an ordinary pottery store, but since it is a long-established store that was established in 1887, the inventory that successive owners have collected is quite impressive.

When you go up to the second floor, you'll find an array of ceramics and glassware from all over Japan. Lined up among the samples for business negotiations are the "products" that our predecessors and generations before us purchased and kept without selling. There are quite a few famous items that are difficult to obtain these days, so it's a feast for the eyes.

This is a teacup with a lid made using the Kutani calligraphy technique. Using advanced technology that is said to be difficult to reproduce these days, the inside is covered with letters.
By the way, since they are just "products," most of them can be purchased if you wish. However, the price was so many zeros that I couldn't figure out how much it was even at a quick glance.

Eizo Kagami's glassware is also in the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art.
I once saw a reproduction of it on a TV appraisal program, and I remember it being a good price. This is the original. It must have been purchased as a collection using professional information networks and purchasing routes. The merchants of Odawara are terrifying!

Matsuzakiya pottery shop "Tosai Gallery"
[Address] 3-1-44 Hamacho, Odawara City
[TEL] 0465-24-2479
[Opening hours] 10:00-18:30 *Stores open until 19:00
[Closed] Sunday
* Click here for the official homepage!

The last stop is the Kashiwagi Art Foundry Research Institute's Sahari Gallery Narimonokan. This is a workshop that manufactures cast iron products, inheriting a tradition dating back to the Muromachi period.
During the Edo period, Odawara was the largest foundry base in the Kanto region, and was home to around 100 craftsmen. With the decline in demand for pots and pots, the number of foundry craftsmen has continued to decline, but the company is creating new value by specializing in ``monomono.''

The ``sabari'' in the museum's name is a type of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin that has been used as a material for acoustic instruments since ancient times. At the Kashiwagi Art Foundry Research Institute, we manufacture and sell musical instruments that are more beautiful and have a long, lingering sound by devising their composition and shape.
For example, one of the Buddhist utensils is ``orin''. Up until now, I have lived a life without much connection to Buddhist altars, but I felt that if I could be surrounded by such beautiful sounds, it would be a good idea to join hands with my ancestors every day.

Speaking of musical instruments, don't forget wind chimes. Odawara casting suddenly came into the limelight when this wind chime was featured in Akira Kurosawa's film ``Red Beard''.
At the workshop, you can purchase a combination of your favorite wind chime and strip of paper, making it a great souvenir. When you actually play them, each one has a different tone, so you can't decide whether to choose based on the sound or the design.

Kashiwagi Art Foundry Research Institute《Sunabari Gallery Musical Museum》
[Address] 3-1-22 Nakamachi, Odawara City
[TEL] 0465-22-4328
[Opening hours] 9:00-17:00
[Closed] 2nd, 4th, and 5th Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
* Click here for the official homepage!

At every corner of Odawara, there are stone pillars inscribed with the old town name and its origin. I would like to take a leisurely walk through the history of the town while remembering the bustle of the past.

Odawara has many other town corner museums open to the public. All facilities are run by volunteers from each facility, so please remember to use good manners when touring.

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