Niigata City was once a busy port town. It was a particularly prosperous town from the Edo period (1603-1867) to the early Meiji period (1868-1912), when the 'Kitamae Senpaku' (north-bound ships) were developing. The name 'Ryuto' was derived from the scenery of the Niigata harbour, which was moated during this period.

One of the houses that flourished as 'wealthy merchants' in such a port town is the former Ozawa House.

The former Ozawa Family Residence is the shop and residence of the Ozawa family, a merchant family active in Niigata Town since the late Edo period. It is currently open to the public as a Niigata City cultural asset.

The house, built in a typical machiya style, was donated by the Ozawa family to Niigata City in 2002, with the land and buildings donated by the Ozawa family. It has since been reconstructed and turned into a facility open to the public.

On this day, a volunteer guide gave us a tour of the house while teaching us about the Ozawa family and the history of Niigata Minato.

The Ozawa family originally ran a rice merchant business, but moved to the area in the early Meiji era and embarked on a 'gyratory business'. Many people have the image of the Sea of Japan side as 'rough seas! In reality, however, the waves were higher on the Pacific Ocean side, and distribution by ship was exclusively on the Sea of Japan side.

The Ozawa family was very successful during the Kitamae Ship boom. The Ozawa family expanded into various businesses, such as shipping and warehousing, rice wholesalers, landownership and oil trading, and became one of Niigata's leading merchant families. Later, their descendants were also active in politics.

This long townhouse construction at the back was a tax measure at the time. Taxation was determined by the width of the entrance frontage facing the street! So the frontage facing the street was made as narrow as possible. This is why the frontage facing the street was made as narrow as possible, and the long townhouse style can now be seen all over Japan. Interesting.

Inside the building, there are many panels where you can see a variety of information about the history and other aspects of the building. It would take a considerable amount of time to look at all of this!



Thanks to the volunteer guides, we were able to hear stories about the buildings that we wouldn't normally have known! The storehouse and the garden were both magnificent. And the roofs have secrets that only a rich man could have discovered. ...... (I forgot the name of the building. Sweat)

Entrance fee 200 yen! Historic buildings throughout the town. Why not come and experience its history?

Spotlight.

Former Ozawa family residence

• 2733, 12-bancho, Kamiokawa-mae-dori, Chuo-ku, Niigata 951-8068, Japan.
• http://www.nchm.jp/ozawake/index.html