| The historic district of Sawara is located
along and around the Ono River and
Katori
Kaido Highway. Its center is the Chukei
Bashi
bridge, where the river and the highway
cross.
It is about a 15 minute walk from Sawara
station to the bridge. The historic district is notable for a number of well-preserved, more than a century old townhouses. These buildings, called machiya, served both as a shop, with the storefront usually facing the street, and a residence. They commonly have a few earthen-walled storehouses, called dozo, standing to the side or in the backyard. In addition to the traditional buildings,some Western style or partly Westernized buildings built after the Meiji Restoration can be found. These various buildings stand in neat rows along the streets. The differing scale, form, and style of each townhouse reflects such factors as its former business, or the period of construction. The large townhouses on the two streets, which run on either banks of the Ono River, were formerly engaged in rice trade, brewery of sake or soy sauce, or transportation of goods. Stone steps were created in front of these buildings for carrying goods up from the ships. Some of these stone steps,called dashi, are still extant. Most of the houses along the Katori Kaido Highway were merchant houses, which sold various goods for the everyday life, such as clothes,medicine, and tea to the residents of Sawara and the neighboring areas. |
|
 |
|
| The most attractive are the townhouses built
in dozo-zukuri, or earthen-walled storehouse
style. They are covered with thick earthen
walls and plastered in black. The doors were
also first daubed and then plastered as with
the walls. They are two-storied and have tiled roofs with high ridges and large onigawara (devil tiles). The construction of dozo-zukuri was very expensive, and therefore used only for the front part of the townhouse, which included the store, and not for the residential area behind it. This style, which is very effective for the fireproofing, originated and developed in Edo, where ordinary wood structures were repeatedly lost to large fires. From the late 18th century onwards, rich merchants introduced this building style into Sawara. The common one or twostoried townhouses in Sawara have earthen walls only on the side and back walls. Their facades are covered with wooden lattice windows. The interiors of these traditional buildings are not open to the public yet. But visitors can see the inside of these shops, while purchasing souvenirs or enjoying soba dishes. After the Meiji Restoration, Western architectural styles and techniques were introduced into Sawara. Mitsubishi-Kan, a brick building built in 1914 as a bank, is a fine example. This building is now used as an information center, where visitors can obtain useful information from resident volunteers. Since 1994, dozens of these historic buildings have been repaired or restored, receiving support from the municipality and the National Government. It is a pleasure to see such precious buildings revived after they had been in a state of disrepair for many years. |
