熊谷美術館 ～江戸時代から続く歴史遺産と日本最古のピアノを未来へ〜

400 Years in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture － Preserving Edo Period Heritage and Japan's Oldest Piano for Future Generations

 

【English Translation of contents】

The Kumaya Family established itself as the leading merchant house of the Chōshū clan under the rule of Hagi Castle in the Edo period.  The founder of the Kumaya Family, Kumaya Tahei, moved to Hagi Castle’s domain from Kawakami Village and established his business around 1604, at the time that Mori Terumoto established Hagi.  Kumaya Yoshiatsu, fifth son of the third generation of the Kumaya head family, returned to Hagi after completing his training with the Ito Family a wealthy merchant family in Shimonoseki, and at the age of 22 formed the branch of the Kumaya Family which continues to this day.

Goemon Yoshimitsu became a major force in the financial reform of the Mori clan’s 7^th lord Mori Shigetaka, and benefitted from a personality similar to highly successful Osaka Kamigata-cho merchants such as Konoike and Kashimaya.  He was awarded the Kashimaya family crest (ivy with shadows in a circle).  The connections that this crest made possible opened many gates.

The 5^th generation Goemon Yoshikazu, a cultural enthusiast, interacted with the German doctor Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold and also supported Oka Kensuke's disciples at Narutaki Juku. The Dutch Chomel Encyclopedia which was recently shown on the popular TV antique appraisal program "Nandemo Kantei-dan" and is currently in the care of Yamaguchi Prefectural Hagi High School, the school attended by Kumaya Museum’s director but came into our possession thanks to  the 4^th generation Goemon Yoshikazu who purchased the book for use at Narutaki Juku in Nagasaki.  Later, it was donated by 7^th generation Goemon Mankichi and donated to the library built on the grounds of Yamaguchi Prefectural Hagi Junior High School in 1902.

 Getting back to the story, when Siebold returned to the Netherlands in 1828, he entrusted his favorite piano to Goemon Yoshikazu through Oka Kenkai.  Inscribed inside the piano, Siebold wrote, "Saying goodbye to my friend Kumaya - Doctor von Siebold, 1828."

 At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogoro, Ito Hirobumi and many other scholars visited the Kumaya Family.  In the hanare (detached) tatami room, they exchanged cups of saké and had discussions until morning.  Towards the end of the Tokugawa’s rule, 6^th generation Goichi was often ordered to make military donations and went to various places to support the priests of the Qin Wang and worked for the royal affairs.  At the beginning of the Meiji era, he was introduced to Omotesenke's school of tea in Kyoto, and welcomed the Senke family to Hagi in order to protect traditional Japanese culture which was threatened by the industrialization of the Meiji era.  This also had a great influence on the development of tea ware and Hagi pottery.  Since then, The Kumayas have continued to support many cultural figures, scholars, and ordinary people for generations.

 

9^th generation Kumaya Atsushi, opened the Kumaya Museum in April 1965 to preserve and make public various materials such as works of art, tea utensils, and documents that have been passed down from generation to generation along with the history of the Kumaya Family.

In this way, the museum has worked hard to protect important historical cultural properties and historic buildings, but in recent years the buildings have shown their age and have been significantly damaged by natural disasters exacerbated by global warming.  Thus, urgent restoration is necessary for their survival.  Due to the current situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, sadly the Kumaya Family cannot meet this challenge on its own.

Therefore, we are have humbly decided to seek widespread support from our friends near and far via a crowdfunding effort in order to link our precious history and the spirit of the many ancestors who continue to live there, to future generations by restoring the buildings and their interiors.

Once the project succeeds and the world is calm, we hope to hold a concert that will make everyone happy and enable the museum storehouses to regain a feeling of optimism.  I also hope that the historic documents which are currently being examined by university professors and students will be preserved and made public in their proper form once the buildings offer a proper environment.

In the 100 years to come, it is my heartfelt hope that everyone who visits the museum will feel great excitement and joy, and that the experience that the collection makes possible will be useful to the world for ages to come.  We look forward to your warm support.

 Kumaya Art Museum

 

Thank you for your interest in this project. This page explains how to support our project from computer. Please refer to the following page for details about this crowdfunding challenge.

 

 

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Thank you so much!!