Throughout the Edo Era from the early 17th to the mid-19th centuries when Shoguns ruled Japan from Tokyo, and Japan's economy was based on rice, at that time, people paid taxes with rice. Kurashiki was the main rice-collecting depot for western Japan. The city's name reflects this past: "Kura" means storehouses and "Shiki" is from the verb meaning to "spread out." By barge from Shikoku and Kyushu and overland from western Honshu, tons of rice moved through Kurashiki every year.
Kurashiki was a port town then and many of its thoroughfares were canals. Along the present canal one will find several cultural facilities such as the Ohara Art Museum, the Folkcraft Museum and the Archaeological Museum as well as houses with their white walls and black tiles that tell the history of old Kurashiki. Along the river, you can relax in the natural beauty of the weeping willows
One of the most interesting attractions is the Toki-kan, a collection of restored storehouses, which today house permanent collections of contemporary pottery. One building has an exhibit of stenciled tapestries, kimonos and designs by Keisuke Serizawa that occupies two floors. A main hall, with tall rough pillars, houses a collection of wood block prints by Munakata Shiko. An adjoining building, the Oriental Hall, houses oriental sculpture.
Next door to the Toki-kan is the pseudo-Greek original Ohara museum, which was founded in 1930. It displays over 100 paintings dating back to the 17th century. Among the many artists represented there are works by El Greco, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Millet, Renoir and famous other contemporary artists. The branch gallery has modern works by Japanese artists as well as antiquities from Egypt, Persia and Turkey.
Another cultural attraction is the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcrafts which was opened in 1949. Its buildings are remodeled typical rice granaries. The interiors display thousands of handcrafted articles made by unknown craftsmen and collected chiefly in the Kibi district, the old name for Kurashiki and its vicinity.
The Kurashiki Archaeological Museum, founded in 1950, displays 1400 relics excavated in the Kibi District and dating back to the Jomon and Yayoi Periods. Also, about 300 antiques of Old China are displayed and provide a history of human culture of their periods. The Kurashiki Historical Museum displays some 1150 weapons, musical instruments, coins, Buddhist altar articles and household utensils, all of which were used during and after the Kamakura period (1192-1333).
The southern part of Kurashiki faces Bisanseto, the center of the Seto Inland Sea National park, and many picturesque places like Mt. Washuzan (133m). At the foot of the mountain is the Great Seto Bridge connecting Shikoku island.
The Washuzan skyline drive (17.1 km) crosses several hills and valleys on the way to Mizushima and offers many spectacular views of the Seto Inland Sea and the Mizushima industrial area.
Off Washuzan on Mukuchi Island, reached by ferry from Shimotsu Port, is a distinctive rock having an appearance of an elephant frolicking in the sea created by tides and wind over the centuries.
There are also many historic temples and shrines such as Entsuji, where the famous Zen priest, Ryokan, had his training as a youth. Among his many activities, he is most well known for his poetry, calligraphy and love of children. At the top of the hill overlooking the scenic Seto Inland Sea is a statue of Ryokan playing with the children he so loved. The natural aspect of the area has been preserved with its many flowering trees, cherry blossoms, in spring, irises in early summer and Japanese maples in the autumn.
The Anyoji (temple) has large wooden statues of Buddha of the Heian Period shown in many postures; some are classified as National Cultural Assets. There are also 213 roof tiles nearby on which the Buddhist Sultras were recorded.
Kurashiki Ivy Square: During the Edo period Kurashiki was under the direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate (1642 - 1866) and governed by a local magistrate. Ivy Square now stands where the magistrate's office was located. In 1889, a cotton mill was built here and was under operation until the end of World War II. The Kurabo Memorial Hall was opened in 1969 in one of the cotton warehouses of this factory. It displays the history of the factory from its inauguration. In 1972, another warehouse of this factory was used to open the Kojima Torajiro Gallery of the Ohara Museum of Art. Kojima, a native of Okayama, was the artist who collected most the famous occidental pictures now displayed in the Ohara Museum. The gallery contains displays of Kojima's masterpieces from his early days to the later years. The Ivy Square was opened in 1974 by remodeling a red brick factory building. It now includes a hotel, restaurants, banquet halls, shopping center, etc.
Kurashiki, with its atmosphere of yesterday and today, is indeed unique in all Japan. It offers you new discoveries, exciting experiences and everlasting memories.
