Sawara Neighborhood Museum No.11-No.20

　Eco-Shop, Suppin-ya, sells natural Japanese general goods. Our shop front is one of the traditional historic buildings designated by the government. The intention to preserve the old townscape allows us to provide natural goods for the consumers.
　The shop was founded as a furniture shop. Even now it is still open next to our shop.
　Our museum displays a piece of a long cubic handwarmer manufactured by a skillful craftsman. In present day Japan, this kind of furniture may be out of use, but its presence makes us feel cheerful and lively.
　And, on the wall in the depth of our shop, is hanging an old wall clock made in the early Showa Period.
　Enjoy the sight of the daily articles in the good old days. Every weekend, around the handwarmer we can have merry talks with the visitors over a cup of tea.

　Modern Warehouse

　In the 1st year of Heisei (1989), this hardware shop was completed as the post-modern ku-ra (warehouse) with a structure which can eliminate moisture to protect the iron and steel utensils against corrosion.
　The big key designed in the center of the second floor level is the symbolic door key the visitors may be asked to turn. Our shop has also been built to resist earthquakes and will continue to do so for another 100 years.
　The fire bell tower at the foot of the Tadataka-Bashi Bridge was presented to the town in the 10th year of Showa (1935) by our ancestor.
　The charcoal hearth of ebony has been used since the early Showa Period. The Nan-bu (now lwate Pref.) iron kettle keeps its original condition in spite of the long lapse of time. The fire-proof Han-ten (a short coat) is believed to have been sewn in the Edo Period. It is a great surprise to see how this high technique protected fire fighters from the danger of fire sparks against the coat.

　Sawara Cinematic Museum

　Sawara, which preserves the landscape of old Japan, can have a lot of good locations for shooting both movies and commercial films.
　Some parts of our shop front and interiors were used as the background of movies, such as 'The eel,' (the winner of the grand prise in Cannes film festival), 'Kura (ware house)', 'Shun-tou (spring lights)',and 'Kai (oars)', starring Matsu Takako, based on the novel by Miyao Tomiko. Many pictures are displayed inside the shop.
　The third son of our family played as a hero in a TV drama, 'Ultra-man Dyna'.
　Help yourself to the delicious pickles served in the shop.

　Museum of Tea and Tabocco

　At the shop front are displayed two signboards, such as the 'Ippuku Issen' sign (a cup of tea for one coin) which originated in the middle Edo Period (1603-1877), and the 'Ten-gu Tobacco' sign , a brand which was created by a tobacco tycoon named Mr. Iwaya. The Otaka-en used to be the sales agency of the lwaya Tobacco Company.
　You can see a publicity poster of 'o+ Kumoi' which brand was derived from a well-known 'geisha' woman called Kumoi, who made a blend of tobacco on her own and smoked it and thus won her great popularity from the smokers of the time. o+ is a coat of arms from the 'Satsuma' clan, a feudal lord of southern Kyusu which is famous for producing good tabacco.

　Textile museum

　Here is a folding screen inlaid with Gyo-ku-seki (sliced precious stones). This screen may have no counterpart anywhere in the world.
　There is a Japanese old saying that if a woman obtain a Gyo-ku (a precious stone) she can succeed in marrying a rich man.
　The Gyo-ku contains the five To-ku (good virtues): Gi (rightousness), Jin (benevolence), Chi (intellect), Yu (courage) and To-ku (high virtue). The Gyoku can provide its holder with the spiritual strength produced from such virtues.
　Enjoy the display of the things the ex-owner of our shop collected.

　Handmade, Heartwarming Museum

　A watercolor picture by Mr. TAKAHASHI,Tohzan: he once visited Sawara on his sketching trip. He sat on a bench in front of our store drawing a picture. The storekeeper served him a cup of tea and had a good time chatting with him. The next day, the painter came to our shop and presented a picture as a token of his thanks. This picture is a piece of our family treasure which reminds us of the personality of a tenderhearted painter.
　A photograph by Mr. HIGO,Kazutaka: this was awarded as the gubernatorial prize in the 17th Saitama Prefecture Photo Salon Competition in 2001. 0ne day when the shopkeeper was opening the door， he was asked by a stranger to take a picture of him. Several days after that encounter, our family were amazed to see a big photograph in a page of a newspaper which said it had been awarded the best prize at the competition. This photograph shows a good example of how to spend time after our retired life.
　A big candle (length of 48.5 cm and max width of 13cm) was actuany used in 2000 as lighting on the Noh stage of Kurokawa Noh，which is designated as a national important intangible cultural asset.

　Stone Museum

　This workshop, established in the 1st year of Meiji (1868), displays a group of stone works into which the memory of a history of 137 years is carved. The great skill of each craftsman can remind us of Sawara's economic prosperity in the early years of Showa (1925-).

　the Imaginary Views of Sawara

　You can enjoy lots of paintings of the imaginary views of Sawara's townscape and the fantastic, visionary world, drawn by a native painter of Sawara, his spiritual home.

　Music and Image Shop

　Established in the 21st year of Showa (1946) as a shop selling radio sets, the shop started the sale of the phonographic records in the 36th year of Showa (1961). The items displayed in the shop have been collected by the shop owner herself. The tin hand warmer is a special favorite of hers.