Cultural properties
giving shape to stories

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Cultural properties giving shape to stories

Find out about major organized cultural properties
designated as Japan Heritages.

Nagoya City Arimatsu Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings

The townscape of Arimatsu; the scene of a dyeing and textile town and the only in Japan to be selected as a National Important Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings.
The community of Arimatsu grew with its tie-dyeing industry along the gently winding and historic Tokaido Road. Its scenery, reminiscent of woodblock prints from the Edo period, is maintained even today, and a number of buildings remain with the grand frontages characteristic of Arimatsu's tie-dye establishments.
House of Oka

This house's frontage is the largest of Arimatsu's traditional buildings and still retains the characteristics of a tie-dye business at the end of the Edo period. It also features a skylight to let daylight shine in. The interior is open to the public, and you can view and learn about a tie-dye merchant's establishment. The building is said to have been built around the end of the Edo period.
It is designated as a Municipal Tangible Cultural Property.
Parade float events
of the Arimatsu Festival

The Grand Autumn Festival (Arimatsu Float Festival) at Arimatsu Temmansha Shrine is a parade float event continuing since the Edo period as well as the stage for the three Jingu-Kogo-sha, Karako-sha, and Hotei-sha floats,respectively from the towns of Nishimachi, Nakamachi, and Higashimachi.
Looking at all of the different elaborate costumes during the festival is another fun aspect of the event now held on the first Sunday of October every year.
This gorgeous festival's culture, born from the prosperity of the tie-dyeing industry, is an integral part of Arimatsu's story and is designated as a Municipal Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
Arimatsu Dashi Float Museum

Every year, one of the three Arimatsu Festival parade floats, designated as cultural properties of the City of Nagoya, are on exhibit here, and you can learn about the parade float procession through video (English available) as well as information about the culture of the festival.
Takeda Shoukuro Monument, Suzuki Kinzo Monument

The Suzuki Kinzo Monument, created in commemoration of Suzuki Kinzo's role in rejuvenating Arimatsu's tie-dyeing industry, stands inside the Arimatsu-Narumi Tie-Dyeing Museum together with the Takeda Shoukuro Monument, dedicated to the man who fathered the tie-dyeing of Arimatsu.
These two figures were instrumental in the development of the tie-dye techniques described in the Story section of this site. A memorial service is held in front of the stone monuments every year.
Arimatsu-Narumi Tie-Dyeing Museum and its tie-dye exhibits

This museum was established in the heart of the Arimatsu district in 1984 to introduce visitors to Arimatsu's traditional industry of tie-dyeing mentioned in this site's Story section. View exhibits of precious tie-dyes, learn about tie-dyeing history and culture through video (English available), and see actual tie-dyeing craftspeople as they work.
Gionji Temple, the Stone of Buddha's Footprints, Empress Komyo's Buddhist Poetry Monument, 33 statues of Kannon Bodhisattva, and statues
of the 16 Arhats

Gionji Temple lies on the westward end of Arimatsu and has witnessed the history of Arimatsu described in this site's Story section. Many of Arimatsu's residents are laid to rest at this temple, which belongs to the Buddhist Soto sect.
It was moved to and established at its current location in 1755 from its previous location in Narumi at Endoji Temple.
Arimatsu Temmansha Shrine

Arimatsu Temmansha Shrine enshrines the local Shinto deity of Arimatsu.
It is also where the community's parade float events are held.
Seven deities are worshiped with Lord Sugawara no Michizane as the focus. It was originally located in Gionji Temple's precincts, but came to be in its present location at the beginning of the Kansei period (1789–1800).
Following its relocation, it was renovated in 1824 and features a gorgeous, intricate roofed architectural style.

Other cultural properties

Hattori Magobe's residence (Igetaya) was established in 1790 as a tie-dye shop. The width of the property running along the street is the greatest in Arimatsu, and the influential tie-dye establishment's structure still remains well intact. It features a skylight to let daylight shine in.
The building was constructed in 1861 and is designated as a Prefectural Tangible Cultural Property.
Hattori Kohei's residence stands to the east of Hattori Magobe's residence (Igetaya) and became Kohei's after he branched off, forming a new family line in the traditional Japanese familial system. The storehouse was constructed as an extension of one of the buildings on Hattori Magobe's property and given as it stood to Kohei when he began the new family line.
This tie-dye establishment was built during the Meiji period, and a large part of it still remains as it did at the time. The building was constructed in 1895.
The Takeda family is said to have began with Takeda Kashichiro, who made a living in the tie-dye industry between 1741 and 1744 and was a descendant of tie-dye pioneer Takeda Shoukuro. The House of Takeda's Tea Ceremony Room when it belonged to Shoukuro is said to have been visited by 14th-generation shogun Tokugawa Iemochi of the Tokugawa shogunate. This and other buildings were renovated from the Meiji period to the Taisho period and still stand today.
The House of Takeda was constructed at the end of the Edo period.
This is the tea ceremony room at the former residence of Takeda Shoukuro, which is said to have been visited by 14th-generation shogun Tokugawa Iemochi as he traveled westward toward Kyoto along the Tokaido Road during the tumultuous times at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. The building is designated as a Municipal Tangible Cultural Property.
The Kozuka family is said to have built this residence in Arimatsu between 1661 and 1673. A characteristic of the building is its rooftop load-bearing udatsu wall, and the structure of the tie-dye shop there still wholly remains.
The building was constructed around 1862.
An incredible Ilex rotunda tree stands in the yard of the House of Hattori mentioned above and is designated a Conserved Tree in an Urban Setting by the City of Nagoya as it is the oldest tree in the Arimatsu area. This enormous tree has watched over Arimatsu and witnessed its history since around the time the Tokaido Road was opened. It even survived when much of Arimatsu's community was lost to flames during a great fire in the 1780s. The tree was left alone during construction of the current building, where it had been standing long before.
This building originally belonged to the tie-dye merchant family of Yamada Yokichiro, but has been used by the Nakahama family as the Nakahama Shop since 2004. The building was constructed around the middle of the Meiji period.
This building was created as a tie-dye shop (Oigetaya) and was the face of Arimatsu. It had been used as the Tanahashi Clinic for almost 50 years from 1933. It features a skylight to let daylight shine in.
The building was constructed in 1876 and is registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property.
The House of Yamada (former Yamada Pharmacy) was renovated with its commemorative plaque from 1791 remaining, and now functions as a tourism information center.
Be sure to take advantage of the information available as you stroll through the Arimatsu depicted in this site's Story section.
Originally built in the early days of the Showa period, the House of Kondo has been renovated and now acts as a guest house.
Don't miss the opportunity to stay here during your walk through the Arimatsu described in this site's Story section.
This building was renovated with its original floorboards from 1846 in tact and now functions as a cafe.
The House of Kamiya and its earthen storehouse were built at the beginning of the Showa period and now serve as the Yamato restaurant and Dasenka Kura cafe and bakery.
Built at the beginning of the Meiji period, the House of Hattori (Igeju) now functions as the Jugemujaya bistro.
A storehouse still exists within Jugemujaya's premises, and it is said to be the largest remaining storehouse in Arimatsu.
This building was constructed from the end of the Meiji period and serves as the assembly location of the mechanized karakuri dolls used on the parade float from the Town of Nishimachi in Arimatsu Temmansha Shrine's Grand Autumn Festival.
To the east of Arimatsu Post Office lies a small temple where a stone statue of Jizo Bodhisattva is worshiped. This bodhisattva's statue has been looked after by generations of Arimatsu residents since the Edo period. It was previously located elsewhere and was moved in 1998 to its current spot.
This gate was situated at the former Arimatsu Senior Elementary School of wooden construction in 1927 and is now preserved at the corner of the athletic grounds.
The advanced curriculum of Arimatsu Senior Elementary School was put into practice in 1894 and made possible by large funds donated from Arimatsu's tie-dyeing union at the time. The success of the tie-dyeing industry is what brought this gate to life.
This scroll by Katsu Kaishu is hung in an alcove in the House of Takeda's Tea Ceremony Room. There is also a hanging scroll made by Yamaoka Tesshu in the House of Takeda. It is believed that there was a connection of some kind between the fifth generation of Takeda Kahe's family and Katsu Kaishu forged through the prosperity of Arimatsu.
During the Meiji period, there was a craze in the West with Japanese arts and crafts. Arimatsu's tie-dye businesses eagerly exhibited Arimatsu-Narumi Tie-Dye pieces at various international exhibitions for the expansion into the overseas market. Award certificates received for the placements below by pieces at various exhibitions are displayed at the House of Hattori and the Arimatsu-Narumi Tie-Dyeing Museum:
- Bronze medal from the Paris Exposition of 1900
- Silver medal from the Japan–British Exhibition of 1910
- Gold medal from the Panama–Pacific International Exposition of 1915
The success of the tie-dyeing industry is seen by the testimonial of these award certificates.
When Confucian and poet Rai Sanyo stayed at the Igetaya Shop at the end of the Edo period as an acquaintance of the owner, he left a fan on which he wrote a calligraphy piece that is now preserved at the House of Hattori.
The prosperity of Arimatsu at the time is illustrated in the Chinese poem on the fan.
The fan is replicated on a stone monument at the entrance of the Arimatsu-Narumi Tie-Dyeing Museum. This monument is one of those featured below inscribed with poetry about Arimatsu and the Tokaido Road.
The sedan-chairs used to carry in the brides of the Hattori Magobe family's third and fourth generation weddings are displayed from the ceiling when you enter the shop.
They are approximately 180–200 years old and are incredible pieces describing to generations today the way people in Arimatsu once lived.
This is a stone bridge within Arimatsu Temmansha Shrine's premises and runs along a small path parallel to the shrine's main path, Kiridoshi Road.
The bridge remains along where the Kiridoshi Road used to lay and looks just as it was depicted in the Illustrated Guide to the Owari Region's Famous Sites from the Edo period.
This group of parishioners existed since before World War II, but the group came to its current structure when devotees of the past to Arimatsu Temmansha Shrine officially joined into it in 1946. From 1964 when it became a religious corporation and to the present, Arimatsu's float festival and management of the floats have been placed in the hands of the parishioners rather than local communities as was previous done.
This hall is situated along the Nagasakamichi Road and enshrines Buddhist saint Kobo Daishi.
The hall is an invaluable structure, relaying the atmosphere of Arimatsu during the Edo period as written in this site's Story section.
Nakamachi Jizo-do Hall was moved from its former location along the so-called Tennozaka Road to where it currently stands when the road was widened, and is home to what is referred to as a "Sweating Jizo" statue.
The hall is an invaluable structure, relaying the atmosphere of Arimatsu during the Edo period as written in this site's Story section.
During the calamity of the Great Arimatsu Fire in 1784, a belief in praying for protection from fire took hold, and to this day, there are five Akiba shrines within the district devoted to the Shinto god of fire prevention.
As mentioned in the Story section of this site, Arimatsu was the subject of the classic Japanese novel Shank's Mare and woodblock prints, and there are also a number of poems speaking of Arimatsu as well as the Tokaido Road.
To convey this to visitors, seven monuments inscribed with poetry about Arimatsu are set along the Tokaido Road.
The relationship between Arimatsu and the historic Tokaido Road described in the Story section of this site is truly unshakable. The milestone along Arimatsu's part of the Tokaido Road remained as it originally stood until the Taisho period, but was reconstructed in 2012 due to strong demand by locals.
The Tokaido Road is the starting point of Arimatsu's history. The taking down of electrical poles in 2013 has brought back its former appearance, which is illustrated in a variety of woodblock prints along with Arimatsu's townscape. Ernest Satow, an English diplomat at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, traveled the Tokaido Road, writing in his diary that he felt Arimatsu was the cleanest and most bountiful community he'd seen in Japan.
This small road leads to National Route 1 from outside Gionji Temple's gate and predates the Tokaido Road.
Long ago, it was a side road behind the tie-dye shops facing the Tokaido Road, and dyers' shops stood along it here and there.
This road stretches approximately 150 meters from the east of Gionji Temple off to the north toward Arimatsu Temmansha Shrine's torii gate. At the entrance to Kiridoshi Road, a pair of stone lantern night-lights stand just as they have since first erected in 1842.
The stone bridge found a ways down the path is Niji-bashi Bridge mentioned above, which stands even today within the precincts of Arimatsu Temmansha Shrine.
This river used to act as the border between Arimatsu and Narumi. It’s cherished as the "Indigo Dyeing River" as the dyes from dyeing establishments upstream ran off into the river, giving it an indigo color.
This scene was a symbol of Arimatsu during the Edo period, though the river's indigo color of those days can no longer be seen due to today's waterworks.
Arimatsu-Narumi Tie-Dyeing is a national traditional craft since its designation as such in 1975 by the former Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
The raised, bumpy texture of the cloth occurs from sewing, binding, and folding and is the essence behind Arimatsu-Narumi Tie-Dyeing. The tie-dyeing is an artistic process done through a technique of tying off the fabric.
As described in this site's Story section, the creation of various types of tie-dyes continues even today and the products are available for sale far and wide.
You can even try tie-dyeing for yourself at tie-dye studios around Arimatsu.

Cultural properties giving shape to stories

Other cultural properties

Cultural properties
giving shape to stories