Chizuka Tachibana is the 18th representative of the Tachibana family. As she stands in the magnificent 182 square meter Grand Hall where numerous wedding receptions and parties have taken place over the years, she says, “This space makes you feel like you’re back in history.” Unforgettable memories created throughout the years make it the center stage for the people of Yanagawa.
Chizuka lives and breathes the Tachibana legacy of the Ohana residence. She has lived here since she was a child and has every intention of passing down the estate for the next 100 years and onward. That’s why she decided to start the restoration of the Grand Hall, a costly but long overdue project. She had a strong sense of duty to protect this cultural asset for the next generation of the Tachibana household.
Yet another crisis hit Ohana just a few years after the Grand Hall restoration -- the COVID-19 pandemic. As infection numbers increased, visitors to Ohana dwindled and they were forced to close their doors for the first time since they started. When funds were drying up and Chizuka actually contemplated giving up for good, she remembered the decisive words of her ancestor Ayako, “It’ll all work out somehow.”
That’s when she thought about her family history -- Muneshige fighting in the Battle of Sekigahara, Tomoharu protecting Yanagawa during the Meiji Restoration and making the preparations to build Ohana as a home, Ayako and Kazuo overcoming desperation after World War II. Ohana has a history of overcoming numerous crises and that was not about to change. With all this in her mind, Chizuka and Ohana rose up to the challenge together.
You are the connecting piece between your past and your future. When your time on this earth ends, what will you leave behind? You are a part of something bigger than yourself and that idea can make you feel small, but also connected.
Your journey through life will one day become part of history. For the Tachibana family, that journey is embodied in Ohana. What will connect you to the next 100 years?
After this section, a song composed with the theme of Ohana will play. Why don’t you take a seat in the hall and look out at the garden while listening to the music, and think about it? You don’t need to come up with an answer now. Let your visit to Ohana be a reminder that you have the potential to pass on your legacy 100 years from now.
The Grand Hall -- where time slowly creeps by. This place is waiting for you to find your answer.
