Learn about the history of Matsusaka in a fun and affordable way! Town walk report using common admission ticket for 3 museums

MatsusakaCity is a town of wealthy merchants. It flourished as a commercial town during the Edo period. Castle ruins and samurai residences still remain, giving the town a retro feel.
A common admission ticket for the 3 museums that allows you to enter the former Hasegawa Jirobei House (320 yen for the general public), the former Ozu Seizaemon House (160 yen for the general public), and MatsusakaCity Museum of History and Folklore (80 yen for the general public) at a discounted rate (general 500 yen), I would like to rent Matsusaka Momen and enjoy walking around Matsusaka town.
Let's start our walk around town from the "Matsusaka Tourism Exchange Center, the town of wealthy merchants" where common admission tickets are sold!

When I asked at the information counter, they kindly told me about the common admission ticket. thank you!
Purchased for 500 yen per person. With this ticket, you can enter three facilities at a discount.
Then let's go.
Common admission ticket for all 3 museums (general: 500 yen, group: 400 yen, 6 to 18 years old: individual: 250 yen, group: 200 yen)

Matsusaka, the town of wealthy merchants, tourism exchange center special page

The first place I visited was the former Ozu Seizaemon family.
The appearance is calm and has a rustic feel. Let's go inside.

that? It's so spacious! When I entered the building, I was surprised at how spacious it was.
He is one of the wealthy merchants representing Matsusaka. That's wonderful.
The earthen floor has a high ceiling and a feeling of openness. However, the houses are very practical and you can feel the solidity of Ozu Seizaemon as a businessman.

The atmosphere is very calm and quiet, and time passes slowly.
When I'm talking, I tend to lose track of time.

There was also this lovely courtyard. Don't you think you'll look great when you pose like this while wearing Matsusaka Momen? It is perfect for the atmosphere of the courtyard. It's a place that foreigners can also enjoy.

The Ozu family had the power to control over 40 paper wholesalers during the Genroku period, and during the Edo period, Matsusaka, along with the Mitsui, Hasegawa, and Nagai families, quickly set up shop in Edo and made a fortune. One of the most wealthy merchants.
Today, as Ozu Shoten Co., Ltd., they run a Japanese paper specialty store, Ozu Historical Museum, Ozu Gallery, and Ozu Culture School, and the name Ozu remains. It's kind of strange and moving that ``commerce'' is still connected today from 360 years ago.
Okay, let's move on to the next location.

The next place I visited was the former Hasegawa Jirobee House, which I arrived at after walking for about 5 minutes.

The atmosphere is a little different from the "Ozu Seizaemon House" mentioned earlier, but it's very spacious! Over the course of its long history, it has expanded to this size by repeatedly acquiring adjacent land and adding new buildings.
The Hasegawa family ran a cotton wholesaler, which was so successful that they opened five stores in Edo.
This situation is even depicted in Hiroshige Utagawa's ``Toto Otenma Gaihan Einozu'' from the Edo period.

This is Taisho Zashiki. If you look closely at the buildings, but also the detailed decorations on the fittings, you will see that they were made with a high level of technical skill.
It's not flashy by any means, but you can feel the high quality of it.

Pay attention to this Ranma! It is made using a very sophisticated technique and looks as if it is a combination of different colors, but it is expressed in the way it is crafted. That's amazing.
All of them are valuable historically, culturally, and technologically.

You can enjoy matcha here. Since the food is made to order, you can enjoy the authentic taste. (500 yen: Matcha served from 10:00 to 15:45)

The twisted blue and white tea sweets are, of course, inspired by Matsusaka Momen.
It was so cute that I thought it would be a waste to eat it, but it turned out to be delicious.
The sweets seem to change depending on the season and time of year, so I was looking forward to coming here again.

When I went out to the garden, I saw a torii gate! ? why! ?
This shrine is said to be Inari Shrine, and was said to be dedicated to the god of business. I see. I agree.
It can be seen that the Hasegawa family was so successful that there was a shrine within the premises of the house.

I keep thinking the same thing over and over again, but it's so spacious! The garden is so large that you can't really see it in the photo. It doesn't really feel like a private home.
The garden has a strolling style and includes an outbuilding and a tea room.
If you can actually see and feel it like this, you will have a deeper understanding.
I wonder if Jirobe Hasegawa was also thinking about Japan's future while gazing at this beautiful garden...
I feel like I'm going to stay too long, but I want to introduce you to one more place, so let's head on over.

The last place we headed to was the MatsusakaCity City History and Folklore Museum located within the Matsusaka Castle ruins.

This building is a renovated library that was originally built in 1909. Inside the museum, there are permanent exhibits related to ``Ise Oshiroi,'' which led to the development of Matsusaka as a commercial city, and ``Matsuzaka Momen,'' which made the name of Matsusaka merchants famous throughout the world. Various materials of cultural value are on display.
You'll be able to discover new charms of Matsusaka that you didn't know existed.

There was a helmet belonging to the military commander, Gamo Ujisato. Ujisato Gamo served Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and is a popular military commander among history buffs who excelled in literature and military arts. He is widely known and loved by MatsusakaCity of Matsusaka as the first lord of Matsusaka Castle and the person who laid the foundations of Matsusaka, a wealthy merchant town.
This helmet is actually used in the warrior procession at the Ujisato Festival, which is held every fall in MatsusakaCity.

This is Matsusaka Momen's handloom. Matsusaka Momen was not only of high quality, but its striped pattern was popular among the people of Edo who loved the chic style, and it became very popular during the Edo period.
The refreshing navy blue striped pattern doesn't feel old-fashioned even in the Reiwa era, and it's still fashionable.

On the second floor, there is not only a Matsusaka Momen handloom, but also an explanation panel explaining the types of threads and their history, so you can learn a lot about them.

MatsusakaCity is home to many famous things, including Matsusaka beef, but walking around town wearing Matsusaka Momen and learning about its history is both refreshing and fun.
It might be a good idea to stop by a restaurant while touring the three museums and enjoy some Matsusaka gourmet food. At the Matsusaka Tourism Exchange Center, where you first purchased your ticket, you can create your own original map on a terminal, so even first-timers can walk with confidence. You can also buy souvenirs, so we recommend stopping by at the beginning and end of your trip.
Why not go to Matsusaka on your next holiday?

<Photography cooperation: Model>
Queen Matsusaka 2019: Riko Nakabayashi, Erina Motoza