Here’s the front building that houses the reception desk for NIPPONIA Ozu. The hotel used to be a famous mansion and the reconstructed front building was the home of Chojiro Murakami, a man who made his fortune in the Meiji Era making Japanese wax from the goby fruit. The wax was not only used for Japanese candles but also for sumo wrestlers’ hair pomade, as well as lipstick for Parisiennes in France.
Just across the street is the equally impressive house of the Imaoka family, who were successful in the silk business. They say Ozu was profitable in the silk industry because the land was suitable for mulberry trees, which fed the silkworms. Frequent flooding in Ozu meant that plants with weak roots got washed away, but mulberry trees were unaffected, which led to their great success. The silk industry in Ozu developed to the extent that cocoons were said to be used as collateral for bank loans.
At the neighboring Murakami residence, you’ll find millstones scattered around the courtyard, which may have been used to grind the goby fruit.
There’s also an old pot labeled “Imaoka” sitting in the courtyard. How did it get there? Was it a gift from the Imaokas, or could it have been borrowed and never returned? No one can be sure what kind of exchanges happened between these two important families back then.
The Imaoka residence was designed so you could see the magnificent plum tree in the courtyard from every room. The story goes that the Imaoka family gifted Emperor Showa raw silk for his enthronement ceremony, and the emperor in turn gifted him with the name “Umejiro,” meaning “Plum Man.” The tree still blooms and bears fruit every year, and guests can enjoy plum syrup when they visit.
If you’re not staying at the residence, ask the staff to show you the plum tree.
The Imaoka residence was designed so you could see the magnificent plum tree in the courtyard from every room. The story goes that the Imaoka family gifted Emperor Showa raw silk for his enthronement ceremony, and the emperor in turn gifted him with the name “Umejiro,” meaning “Plum Man.” The tree still blooms and bears fruit every year, and guests can enjoy plum syrup when they visit.
If you’re not staying at the residence, ask the staff to show you the plum tree.
