There’s still so much history in this building that nobody has not discovered.
The journey to find that lost history begins here.

The start of the Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten goes back over three hundred years to the Edo Period (1603 - 1868).

It got its start in 1716 as a wholesaler as Nara Sarashi in the town of Ganriin-cho.

Nara Sarashi is ramie fabric which were spun and woven by hand and then rinsed in the river, turning them white.

There are many beautiful rivers in Nara. The pristine waters helped turn the cloth and fabric white.

This color was praised as the best ramie fabric and was even bought by the Tokugawa Bakufu government.
Samurai and monks also used their fabric for what could be called formal wear of their time.

Nara was once the capital of Japan. Many important people of the country lived there, creating a high demand for clothes necessary for formal situations.
Nara Zarashi grew with the climate, the history, and lifestyle of Nara.

However, this all greatly changed with the dawn of the Meiji Era (1868 - 1912).

The necessity for warrior clothing disappeared with the samurai. The demand for Nara Zarashi dwindled and they noticed many similar merchants shuttering their doors.

Even so, they didn’t throw in the towel.

They began focusing on undergarments for sweat and baby clothes, continuing to develop new paths for business.

As time continued on, there were less craftsmen, making it difficult for them to create clothing the way they wanted to. It was here that they decided to produce everything themselves instead of purchasing items wholesale.

It was all in order to return to the starting point of production. Though the shape of their products may have changed, the tradition of everything being handmade remained.

Even in the present, Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten focuses on handmade wares, the same way as they did in the Edo Period.

Now then, let’s go to the original store, the old Yu Nakagawa Honten.
This used to be a residence as well as a merchant house.

You may notice that it retains its original, Nara-like aesthetics

For example, they have a fence to deter deer.
There are approximately 1300 deer living in Nara Park. It may be a strange sight for humans and wild deer to live so closely to one another in a town.

But this has a very long history where the gods came, riding white deer, to found the Kasuga-taisha Shrine.

Ever since then, deer have been considered to be messengers of the gods, and are treated very well.

Instead of driving them out, the town made adjustments so that the deer wouldn’t get hurt. The fences built to deter deer were made to protect both the buildings and the deer.

Look up at the ceiling when you enter the store.

You will see one thick, long stalk of bamboo.

This is the same kind of bamboo that is used as torches during the Omizutori (Water-Drawing Ceremony) of the Shuni-e ritual at the Todaiji Temple. It is a traditional ceremony that has been done for over 1270 years since the Nara Era (710 - 794).

You’ll also notice bamboo above the cash register.

The bamboo there was used to inspect products of Nara Zarashi.
They’d hang up large cloths on it to shine light through them and visually inspect them.
When looking up at that piece of bamboo, try imagining white clothes hanging off of it.

Up until about forty years ago, this used to be a wholesale space. As their sales grew, their workspace began to become more cramped.

Once they decided to move, they had to consider what to do with the old building.

The founding of Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten’s first retail store was the result.

They made hanging curtains and coasters on the second floor and then sold them on the first floor. Sometimes, young craftspeople would also exhibit some of their works there.

Hopefully now, you have a better picture of what the origins of Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten looked like.

Now, let’s start looking for those seven deer.

There are deer hiding somewhere in the three hundred year old Shika Saru Kitsune building.
If you see a deer in the building, try taking a minute to listen to it.

While looking for the seven deer, you might suddenly realize why this building has been here for three hundred years.