Nakagawa | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 4 (5/6): NAKAGAWA MASASHICHI SHOTEN (中川政七商店遊中川), Nara (奈良), Japan, 2016.12.06

In October 2014, we stumbled upon a small shop in the shopping centre Tokyo Midtown. Utensils, furniture, cloths, and other miscellaneous household items were on display on wooden shelves and stands. Merchandises were displayed in clusters according to brands from different parts of Japan. The design of that attractive small shop in the middle of a high-end shopping arcade, according designer Yusuke Seki, was inspired by shotengai (traditional shopping street). We stayed at the shop for quite some time, and ended up picking up a blue umbrella with a nice wooden handle. At its underside, there was a small label with an illustration of two deer and a traditional logo saying Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten (中川政七商店). Later on, we did some online research and realized that Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten originates in Nara, and has been around for three centuries.

Opened in 1716, Nara’s Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten just celebrated its 300th anniversary. Originally, the small Nara shop produced hand woven textiles for samurai and monk ceremonial robes. The textile was known as Narazashi, or sarashi bleached hemp textile. During the Meiji Period (1868-1912), the society went through a dramatic change. Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten was forced to diversify its focus on other products such as table cloths and handkerchief. Entering the modern age, the shop defied all odds of modernization, persistently remained faithful to its traditional techniques and craftsmanship. Nakagawa, the 13th president who joined the family business in the last 15 years or so, tested the potentials of his traditional shop to a new level. Not only did he opened new shops outside of Nara like Tokyo and Osaka, Nakagawa also re-branded the company, and gave new life to old products such as using the old technique of mosquito net making for the new best selling fukin (Japanese style table cloth). Furthermore, Nakagawa proactively engaged in fruitful collaborations with other craft companies across the country to come up with new brands and merchandises suitable for the contemporary era.

This time around, we were in Nara after a long day of temple hoping. We promised ourselves that we couldn’t leave the city without visiting the Yu Nakagawa Main Shop (遊中川本店), the flagship store of Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten located at a tranquil alleyway near Sanjo Dori. At one corner of the shop, several merchandises commemorating the 300th anniversary of Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten were on display. A beige cloth with beautiful embroidery was a reproduction of their 1925 product exhibited at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, the design world fair that gave birth to Art Deco. 90 years on, Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten is still standing at the crossroad between the old and new, advocating a good mix of traditional crafts and contemporary aesthetics. At their 300th anniversary, their locally made fabrics and household merchandises are as cool and modern as ever.

The subtle wooden machiya (町屋) facade of Yu Nakagawa Main Shop provides a perfect fit for the shop that advocates high quality local crafts and products.

The design of Yu Nakagawa is a comfortable blend of traditional and contemporary elements.

The signage of Yu Nakagawa Main Shop (遊中川本店) with the iconic deer symbolizing the city of Nara.

Rows of colourful textiles behind the cashier counter attracted our attention right from the beginning.

Cloths, bags, paper products, socks, scarfs, utensils, etc were on display in the pleasant interior.

Most items on display came from their own brands, such as 2&9, their line of well made socks.

It was already dark by the time we left Yu Nakagawa Main Shop.

Before we left Nara, we also stopped by Nipponichi (日本市) at Sanjo Dori. Nipponichi is also a brand from Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten focused on selling Japanese made souvenirs.

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February 28, 2017 | Categories: Japan, Japan: Kyoto and Nara 2016, Kyoto and Nara | Tags: 2&9, craft, deer, 遊中川, heritage, Japan, lifestyle, Masashichi, Nakagawa, Nara, Narazashi, shop, Shoten, tradition, Yu, 奈良, 中川政七商店 | Leave a comment

DAY 6 – TSUGIZAKURA to MIKOSHI-TOGE PASS, Kumano Kodo (熊野古道) 1 of 3, Japan

Another beautiful day. Just like the day before, we used the luggage shuttle service to transport our big pack from Tsugizakura to Ryokan Adumaya, a traditional inn where we would spend the night at our next destination Yunomine Onsen. Leaving Minshuku Tsugizakura behind, we walked uphill to where we left off the day before along Kumano Kodo and continued our journey on the Nakahechi route heading towards Hongu Taisha, a little over 22km away. It was a long day of hike, but today’s hike allowed us to meander through a few peaceful villages where friendly farmers grew tea bushes and orange trees. Similar to the day before, we passed by a number of roadside shrines, cedar forests, bamboo groves, and farming villages. In the morning, we visited the shrines of Nakagawa, Kobiro, and Kumasegawa. Because of road damages to the trail in 2011, we had to take a 4km detour between Nakado-jaya Teahouse to Mikoshi-toge pass via the winding valley of Jagata Jizo. By the time we reached Mikoshi-toge Pass it was already noontime.Toganoki-jaya Teahouse, a reconstructed tea house made of straw and timber in Tsugizakura. This was where we started our second day on the Kumano Kodo. Farewell to the peaceful village, Tsugizakura. Local artists and residence set up a roadside bulletin board introducing local art works capturing the beauty of Kumano Kodo. These two funny looking wooden figures in front of the bulletin board helped to catch hikers’ attention. During the hike along Kumano Kodo, we encountered a number of creative signposts made by the locals.After Tsugizakura we once again entered a world covered with green moss. Along the moist mountain path, fungi, moss, ferns, grass and trees coexisted in what seemed to be peaceful harmony. Cherry blossom is not uncommon when visiting Kumano Kodo in early April. We were a week late from the peak blossom time.Soon we stepped upon this small mountain road that led to the towns of Shingu and Hongu, where two of the most important Kumano shrines had been standing for centuries. Cherry blossoms gave a sense of poetics to the evergreen forest of Kumano Kodo. The road signs for drivers to three most famous onsen in the area: The onsens of Yunomine, Kawayu, and Wataze, which are all within a day of hiking distance.Soon we reached a valley with a water channel where bright green leaves and moss covered allover. Signage of Kumano Kodo appeared every ten minutes or so along our way.After less than two hours on the road, we reached a sign indicating a 4km detour for hikers, as the main route was damaged by a massive typhoon that struck the area badly in 2011. Moss and small plants thrived inside an offering bottle at a small shrine along the detour, revealing the power of nature. That bottle also becomes a piece of art display. Soon after we finished the detour and stepped back onto the main route of Kumano Kodo, we reached the next ancient shrine, Yukawa Oji.By around midday we finally arrived at the park pavilion at Mikoshi-toge Pass where we took a break and had lunch. At the pavilion, we took a short lunch break. Another couple was finishing their lunchboxes when we stepped into the shelter. We were grateful to find the pavilion sound and tidy, including a sparkling clean modern washroom facility adjacent to the resting area. At the pavilion, we unwrapped the bento lunch boxes prepared by the Yuba family at Minshuku Tsugizakura. We love the onigiri rice balls, wrapped in dried bamboo leaves. The rice balls had lingering aroma from the bamboo leaves. In addition to the onigiri rice balls, the bento box also included some side dishes made of local specialties and seasonal ingredients such as bamboo shoots, seaweed, tofu, fish cake, pickles, tamago egg etc. With a mix of flavours (sour, sweet and salty) and textures, the bento box was not meant just to fill up our bellies but also to awaken our taste buds. The bento box also included a bottled green tea and a lovely checker-box patterned mini picnic cloth, pink for the lady, blue for the gentleman. Kawaii !! (cute in Japanese)