History of Kishū Yuasa
Yuasa traditionally was an important way station on the Kumano Pilgrimage Route
where nobles stayed on their way to their destination - the three sacred shrines（Kumano Sanzan）. In Medieval times, when the Pilgrimage became popular among
the bushi（or samurai）and civilians, the Route was often dubbed as the ants
procession for its popularity. In late Muromachi Period（1336〜1573）, Yuasa
continued to develop as the section of the Route along the mountain ridges shiftedwest towards the coast, and experienced further growth during Edo Period.

Yuasa ‒ Where theFragrance ofTradition Lives On

In the Early Modern Period, Yuasa ﬂourished as an important center for land- andsea-based transport and trade, various commercial activities and industries. The
town also prospered from ﬁshing and ﬁshnet manufacturing. The ﬁshing industry
expanded as far as Kyushū to the south and Hokkaido to the north. The mostdistinct industry, however, was the shōyu（soy sauce）brewing, which is said tohave been discovered as a by-product of the kinzanji-miso introduced from China
during the Kamakura Period（1185-1333）. During the Edo Period（1603〜1868）,
the market expanded under the protection of the Kishū Feudal Domain（nowWakayama Prefecture）, and the soy sauce brewing became Yuasa s majorindustry. The record says as many as ninety-two shōyu makers operated in Bunka
Period（1804〜1818）. After the Meiji Restoration（1868）, as the government
subsidy terminated, the industry reduced in scale, but Yuasa still was a major
economic and political center in the province of Arida-gun in the Modern Period.
Today, the traditional townscape remains largely intact, without being aﬀected bythe surrounding infrastructure development.

Yuasa Preservation Districts for Groupsof Traditional Buildings
Historic industrial town（soy sauce）
designated December 19 , 2006

Transport Information
ShinOsaka

KansaiInternational Airport

Yuasa Preservation District for Groups ofTraditional Buildings
Yuasa s traditional townscape wasdesignated as a Preservation District forGroups of Traditional Buildings（judenken）
in the category of the Historic IndustrialTown（shōyu, or soy sauce making）in2006. The Preservation District（6.3ha,
East-West: 400m, South-North: 280m）
comprises a number of districts, including
Kita-machi, Kajiya-machi, Naka-machi, andHama-machi located on the coast to thewest of the old Kumano Pilgrimage Route.
The shōyu industry was most active inthese districts towards the end of the 16thcentury. Today, many shōyu-related shops
and warehouses built in the traditional
fashion dating back to the Edo Period
remain in the area. The older buildings arelow, two-story structures, with roofs that
resemble the shape of an open book laidface-down, a style known as kirizuma-zukuri,
and are tiled with alternating ﬂat androunded tiles, a style known as hongawara-buki. The area is made up of a network ofsmall streets（shōji）branching oﬀ fourmain avenues（tōri）, and even today issuﬀused with the aroma of shōyu brewed inthe traditional manner.

anwJRHane

TennojiLi

ShinOsaka・Tennoji

Wakayama
N

Yuasa
Gobō
TanabeTrain

JR Kinokuni
Line limited
express(about 90min)

Yuasa

Shirahama

For inquiries please call us at
0737‑63‑2525（Yuasa Town Oﬃce）
Attention
・Please consider people living in this area.
・Don t throw away your trash!
Please cooperate for a clean town.
・Be careful of the cars when you are walking.

Wakayama Prefecture Yuasa Town

Map of the Historical Designs of a Place
which has kept Traditions Alive.

6 Andon & Kōji Museum（built 1921）
Museum of street
lantern（andon）, also display/saleof original kōji（malted rice）.

1 Daisembori

Shinhokueibashi Bridge

Inner loading
port for theingredients andproducts wherewarehouses
and stone walls
remain.

Dōmachi St

4 Kanō s House

Kitabashi Bridge

5 Ippuku（Kitamachi Chaya）
Café renovated from the late
Edo machiya shop.

（built 1921）The upstairs ﬁnish
is by black plaster that was in
fashion then with many
decorative features.

Kanō s House

2 KadochoMuseumP

7 Takebayashi s

Visitorʼs
Parking Area

House

Wide shop front with 6
mushiko-mado
windows, selling shōyu
and ﬁshnets.

P

6

Renovated late Edo machiya now arest area. In vicinity, many distinct
buildings, including those with 3rd
ﬂoor, udatsu, observatory tower.

Kitanomachi rōjin ikoi-no-ie（assembly hall for citizens）

Nanamagari Area

7 Takebayashi s

Kitamachi Gallery
with Rest room

Shōyu Museum

8 Suhara s House（built 1874）
well-preserved
main brewery show
a good example ofYuasa building

House

North Ebisu Shrine

Tateishi dōhyō
Stone road sign（1838）made forthe Kumano
Pilgrimage Route.

Suhara s 8House

Ueshimmachi Area

Kajiyamachi St
11

Shōji-kōji lanes
Narrow lanes closely related topeople s daily life.

Nakamachi St

2 Kadocho

Yuasa Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings

Hamamachi St

Map of the Historical Designs of aPlace which has kept Traditions Alive.

Honshōji Temple★

A street museumof items used inYuasa people sdaily life displayed
in seiro andmorobuta, wooden
trays and lids used
for the soy beanfermentation
process.

Kinoshita s （late Edo）private residence forthe brewery family Kinoshita
House

Yuasa Preservation
Districts for Groups of
Traditional Buildings

The star on theleft is on anenlarged map.

★
Shinrakuji Temple(urban district)

Hōrinji Temple

Honshōji Temple

Dōmachi St（the Kumano Pilgrimage Route）

Jinsenji Temple（Stone monument of Tsunami）

Fukuzōji Temple● Tateishi chaya

Tateishi dōhyō

Going to Route42→Senkōji Temple
South Ebisu Shrine

Police BoxLi●Yuasa Town Oﬃce
Information Center ●PNagi-ohashi Bridge

Hirogawa Riverne●ni

Lattice used as a blindat shop front（mise）forprivacy, natural lightand ventilation. 3-shaku（1-shaku= 30cm）tall
removable kōshi wasoften used for thecorridor connecting theshop front andresidency areas.

kuMany kinds of Kōshi
Plastered framed
window with latticeoften used for upstairs
in Early Modern toModern Periods.
Window shape varies
from a simple square tomore decorative mokkō（four-petal oval shape）

North Ebisu Shrine●Extensive Map

noTimber tiles hangbeneath eaves to avoid
rain and moistureentering the house.
Often seen in areas
with high precipitation

Welfare AgencyKi

9Hokueibashi Bridge

Kitabashi Bridge

Seiro Museum

Mushiko-mado window

Makuita

Shinhokueibashi Bridge
Yamadagawa River

Tsushi Upatairs & Hongawara-buki rooﬁng
Two story house with alow upstairs usedmainly for storage andlodging for servants.
Gradually built to be
full-size upstairs withhongawara-rooﬁng（curved tiles covering
the joints of the ﬂattiles）.

Kinoshita sHouse

JR

Public bath that operated fromlate Edo to the end of Showa. Nowa museum

Warehouse with awhite plaster wall
and a brick wall

10 (former) Akagiri s House（built 1907）Main building of a brewerylargest of its kind. Shop front（5.5ken,1-ken=1.8m）with mushiko-mado
windows and mukuri-yane rooﬁng（curved rooﬁng）

Tradesmen s traditional techniques have been shared from generation
to generation.

9St

11 Jin-buro (public bath)

Built between 1573 and1591 the main temple is theTown Cultural Property.
Onigawara tile made in
1694 remains.

n10Akagiri sHouse

Going to Tateishi chaya

atio

Kadocho Brewery established in 1841.
Many shōyu-making tools remain in thewarehouse（built 1866）designated as
the Town Cultural Property.

Matsunoshita Area

asaLong ago North Ebisu Shrine facedthe sea.
We believe it was built in the 19th
century because there is evidenceof stone lanterns in the precinct,
which were made by people ascontributions to this shrine in 1823.

Shitashimmachi Area
Jin-buroYu● North Ebisu ShrineMuseumTateishi chayaOkashō（rest house）●2 Shokunin-gura

Totsuiʼs house

4Otakyusuke-ginsei 3

Kitamachi StIppuku

Andon &Kōji Museum

5

Retro Postbox

PRoute42
Going to（the Kumano Pilgrimage Route）

Yamadagawa River
3 Otakyusuke-ginsei
Late Edo. Former brewery,currently miso maker.

1 DaisemboriN