日本遺産木曽路
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Remains of the House of Toson Shimazaki (Honjin in Magome-juku)

島崎藤村宅の庭と外観

Story

An old "honjin" (officially appointed inn in the Edo Period) in Magome-juku as well as the birthplace of Toson Shimazaki, the author of the novel Yoake-mae (Before the Dawn), which begins with the famous words “All the roads in Kiso are in the mountains.” The Retreat is a structure built in the Edo Period in Magome-juku.

Overview

The Toson Memorial Museum is a literature museum at Magome-juku, located at the south end of Kiso valley. It is also the birthplace of Toson Shimazaki, a famous writer who continued producing works throughout the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa periods.
The house where Toson was born burned down in the great fire of 1895. The Toson Memorial Hall was built at the same place in 1947 based on the design of architect Dr. Yoshiro Taniguchi. This rebuilding was thanks to the efforts of local people who thought, “We want to have something honoring our great writer here at his birthplace.” In 1950, the Toson Foundation was established to run the hall. In 1952, both schoolchildren and teachers in Nagano Prefecture contributed to the Toson Library, which was opened to the public. Mr. Kusuo Shimazaki, Toson’s eldest son, donated about 5,000 items of materials. Operation of the Hall then started, and it was designated a facility equal to a museum in 1955. Finally, in 1969, it was designated a cultural property (historic site) of Nagano Prefecture as the Remains of the House of Toson Shimazaki.

Points of Interest

The museum consists of the Toson Memorial Hall, a retreat used by his grandparents, a Hometown Room (DVD space), the Second Library (Temporary Exhibition Room) and the Third Library (Permanent Exhibition Room), each occupying its own building. It preserves about 6,000 items, including manuscripts of Arashi (Storm) and Yoake-mae (Before the Dawn), etc., along with his beloved articles, related documents, and a collection of books of poetry and rare books from the Meiji and Taisho Periods.
The Permanent Exhibition Room displays all of Toson’s works, from the first collection of poems Wakana-shu (Young Greens) to the last novel Toho-no-mon (The Gate to the East), and his restored study at Oiso, Kanagawa, where he died. A tour of the room traces his life and works.

  

Interview

藤村記念館事務局長の齋藤稔さん

Director of the Toson Memorial Museum: Mr. Minoru Saito

A comment by Mr. Saito Minoru, secretary-general of the Toson Memorial Museum:

Here you can feel the world of Yoake-mae.
Guests who have read the English version of Yoake-mae come here from all over the world to experience the history of Toson.

藤村宅

Remains of Toson’s house

藤村記念館は緑に包まれている

The Toson Memorial Museum is surrounded by green.

藤村の歴史が展示されている趣深い廊下

A tasteful corridor displaying the history of Toson

隠居所

Retreat

Just walking through the museum lets you feel the history because of its structure. After passing through the corridor displaying the history of Toson, you will arrive at the honjin retreat in Magome-juku.
The Shimazaki family, where Toson was born, derived from the Miura clan in Kanto region and served the Kiso family in the Warring States Period, defending against the forces of the mainstream from the west. The Shimazaki family traditionally operated honjin (official inns), wholesale stores, and acted as village officials in the Edo Period.
This was originally a retreat of Toson’s grandparents, which is said to have been used as his study in his childhood.

常設展示1 
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His hand-written manuscripts are in the Permanent Exhibition Room.
There are also a number of his beloved articles such as books he read, and historical photographs from when he was alive to the present.
We’d be glad if you could get a sense of who he was.

The house where Toson was born burned down in the great fire. That led local people to think, “We want to preserve the landscape at the end of Edo Period along with the history of Toson,” which in turn led to building this museum. From now on, we’d also like to spare no effort in preserving them.

We’d like if everyone could experience the “hometown feel” of Japan.

Everyone who loves this local area is striving to preserve the historic Magome-juku, the museum located there, and the landscape and history of the Edo Period.

常設展示3
  

Attractions

妻籠宿

Magome-juku has a walking course to Tsumago-juku. The 8-kilometer road takes two and a half hours. On the way, there is the Ikkokutochi Tateba-chaya rest stop which is registered as Japan Heritage site, meaning you can enjoy even more Japan Heritage spots.
The course allows you to easily enjoy the area’s history.


 

Access

Basic Information

Name: General Incorporated Foundation Toson Kinen-go
Phone: +81-573-69-2047
Representative: Chairman Imio Shimazaki
Activities: Establishment and operation of the Toson Memorial Museum

From the closest station & interchange

From JR Nakatsugawa Station

Take the Kitaena bus bound for Magome, then disembark at Magome, the last stop (about 30 min)
Walk 10 min. from there

From Chuo Expressway Nakatsugawa Interchange

Exit at Nakatsugawa Interchange for Kiso/Fukushima, take Route 19, and turn at Okita crossing to Magome (about 25 min.)

Address

4256-1, Magome, Nakatsugawa, Gifu, 508-0502

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