The Ōkubo family currently possesses Umoregi-no-ya. In the past, the Ōkubo family were samurai from Mikawa Province who served the Tokugawa clan as direct retainers, starting with Tokugawa Ieyasu’s grandfather. Following the battle of Sekigahara, Ii Naomasa became the lord of Hikone Domain. It was during this time that Ieyasu sent Ōkubo Tadahira on a mission to oversee the development of Hikone Domain and support Naomasa, appointing him to be a retainer of Hikone Domain. And so, generations of the Ōkubo went on to serve the Ii family as important figures within Hikone Domain.

During the Bakumatsu period, Ōkubo Kozen served as a close adviser to three generations of lords: Ii Naoaki, Naosuke, and Naonori.

When Naosuke created his own style of sado, Ōkubo Kozen became his second disciple, and he was bestowed the tea name “Sōho.” He truly was a close confidant of Naosuke, but things quickly changed after the Sakuradamon Incident.

Naosuke had not named a successor, which meant that the Ii clan was in danger of ending. On the very day of his lord’s death, Ōkubo Kozen traveled by palanquin and horse to Hikone to deliver the news promptly. The trip from Edo usually took two weeks, but it is said that he made the trip in four days. Long hours of riding in a palanquin and on horseback can make a traveler queasy, so Kozen tightened his stomach covering and skipped meals, only drinking water and continuing his journey regardless if it was day or night.

Upon his arrival in Hikone, there was a meeting that went on for two days. Immediately after a decision was made, Kozen rushed back to Edo. The plan was to hide the fact that Naosuke had been assassined, and to say that he’d died of illness after naming a successor. Though their plan worked for a time, changes that followed would cause people to criticize the late Naosuke.

In order to avoid any further pursuit of this matter, the Hikone Domain ordered Ryuhoji Kiyoto and Ōkubo Kozen to incinerate official documents. Kozen hid documents related to Naosuke’s political work and lied that he’d burnt them. It is said that Kozen kept the confidential documents beside bombs, so that he could quickly end his life if the documents were ever found.

Those documents that he’d protected with his life would go on to be shared with the public and become proof of Naosuke’s accomplishments.

Kozen also saved Hikone Castle. As the castle walls were being demolished, Ōkubo Kozen desperately and persistently petitioned government heavyweight and Minister of Home Affairs Hijikata Hisamoto to save the castle. Kozen’s passionate pleas to save the castle led Hijikata Hisamoto to gift him a piece of calligraphy with the words, “Loyalty moves people.” Displays of loyalty had the power to move people to take action.
The mayor of Hikone City and former Hikone retainers also began working to preserve Hikone Castle. Their wishes reached the emperor, and they were able to stop the destruction of the tenshu tower. And so, the people of Hikone successfully saved the spirit of Hikone Castle, a national treasure.

As a token of gratitude for all of these accomplishments, along with past feats of the Ōkubo clan, in 1871 Ii Naonori gifted Umoregi-no-ya to the Ōkubo clan by exchanging it with their current home. Naonori gifted the residence along with the following statement: “As a remembrance of the family’s connection to the posthumous influence of Lord Naosuke, I would like the Ōkubo family and its descendents to protect Umoregi-no-ya for generations to come.”

The Okubo family vowed to spread the accomplishments of the Ii clan by protecting Umoregi-no-ya, but that was easier said than done. Significant water damage and earthquakes led the family to pour their personal resources into repairs for Umoregi-no-ya.

During wartime, there was even an incident where military police barged into the residence, trying to take away this historical location connected to the Ii clan, which signed a treaty with the United States. At the time, the three brothers in the Okubo clan all dressed in the white garments samurai used for ritual suicide, and ran the police away by threatening, “If you want to take Umoregi-no-ya from us, you’ll have to cut our heads off first.”

Following this incident, the eldest brother reached out to his friend from Kyoto Imperial University, Konoe Fumimaro (who would later become prime minister), and he got the help of ranking military officer Tōjō Hideki to protect Umoregi-no-ya.

After the war, in 1984 unprecedented heavy snowfall caused the southern part of Umoregi-no-ya to completely collapse. The 11th head of the Ōkubo family, Ōkubo Haruo, a university professor, received government assistance and spent 200,000,000 yen to restore not only the entirety of Umoregi-no-ya, but also the garden, to resemble its state during Naosuke’s time there. The renovations took seven years, and on April 1st, 1991, Umoregi-no-ya was finally open to the public. This was something that the citizens of Hikone City had spent many years dreaming of.

The Agency of Cultural Affairs visited Umoregi-no-ya, and it is said that they were surprised to find that not a single rock that had been there from the Edo period was moved.

The personality that Naosuke developed during his time living at Umoregi-no-ya led him to become the strong figure that didn’t cower in the face of foreign pressures, thus saving Japan from war and colonization.
We are incredibly grateful that you visited Umoregi-no-ya today and experienced what sort of person Naosuke Ii truly was.

The building isn’t the only thing that the Okubo family protected. Umoregi-no-ya is home to memories of the Ii clan and stories that showcase the spirit of Naosuke, which we intend to pass down to others through this tour. The story of Naosuke Ii’s accomplishments does not exist without Umoregi-no-ya.

Finally, you will return to the entryway, where there is a willow tree. Naosuke was fond of willows, and he even compared his own personality to that of a willow tree. He believed that similar to the tree, he appeared soft but had a firm core. Perhaps that was the sort of person he wanted to be. It is said that Naosuke later on called Umoregi-no-ya “Yagiwanoya,” or “willow house.”

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

In a similar vein, we believe that seeing Umoregi-no-ya for yourself has given you the chance to learn about the basis of Naosuke Ii’s culture and intellect through his ideals regarding subjects such as tea, Zen Buddhism, and peace.

By visiting Umoregi-no-ya, you can finally see the truth of who Naosuke Ii was.