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| See the elegant design of the railing |
The Ota Residence is surrounded and protected by its whitewashed liqueur making factory buildings and the Choso-tei guest house stands across the alley. They were built around the middle of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century. The Choso-tei, meaning the house for audience to nobles, is still a residence of the family who owns it and is not open to the public but its exterior can be enjoyed especially when seen from a distance across the bay. The Ota Residence is open to the public and the staff members there give you a guided tour in Japanese.
The ownership shifted from the Nakamura family to the Ota family in the Meiji period. NAKAMURA Kichibei, who moved from Osaka to Tomo some 360 years ago, started to produce Homei-shu liqueur and his family thrived as an exclusive manufacturer of the liqueur regulated by the Fukuyama Domain. The affluent family continually expanded their residence and factory. They were obliged to greet and offer lodging to VIPs during the Edo period. Thus the architecture was unaffected but sophisticated, following the manners popular in Kyoto. Both the residence and factories are superb examples of grace and refinement. You have to take time to appreciate the details and it’s worth doing so.
SANJO Sanetomi and his company, aggressive anti-shogunate and pro-imperial court nobles, were one of the most noted guests. They were fugitives from Kyoto when they called on the Nakamura residence in 1863 and 1864. Sanetomi’s Tanka poem made in Tomo in 1864 goes:
世に鳴らす 鞆の港の 竹の葉を かくて嘗むるも めずらしの世や
Tasting the reputed liqueur of Tomo Port in such an unexpected situation |
| The tastefully designed wooden floor |
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| Inside the former liqueur factory |
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