The Saga City Historical Museum tour, part 1

Before going to Saga Airport, I went to the Saga City Historical Museum. The Yanagimachi (柳町) area in the heart of Saga city has many buildings from the Edo period to the Meiji period.

There are seven buildings in this area, the Old Koga Bank, the Old Koga Family House, the Old Ushijima Family House, the Old Sansho Bank, the Old Fukuda Family House, the Old Hisatomi Family House and the Morinaga Family House.

Let's take a tour.

First I visited to the Old Koga Bank which was built in 1906. The bank itself was established by Zenpei Koga, a money changer in 1885. In the 1920s, it grew to be counted as one of the five biggest banks in Kyushu. In 1926, however, it was forced to take a leave due to the depression. After that it was used for a labor house etc., it is currently used for the folklore museum.

The Romanza cafe on the first floor. A famous local dish is Sicilian rice, putting steamed rice on one plate, assorted meat and raw vegetables on top, and plus mayonnaise on the basic form.   

The Old Koga Family House was built in 1884. It is a house of Zenpei Koga, the founder of Koga Bank. Although it is a town house, but it has a style of samurai residence.

 The house is currently closed due to renovation work. Sorry.

The Old Ushijima House was built in the early 18th century. It is considered to be the oldest Machiya buildings in Saga Castle. 

The Old Sansho Bank. It was established in 1882, and its appearance is a traditional collection, such as a gable roof with swelling. At the time of opening, unlike ordinary banking services, it was said that the rice market transaction was mainly made into a business.      

The Old Fukuda House was built in 1918. It is a house of Keishiro Fukuda, a businessman representing Saga from the end of Meiji period to the Taisho period and early Showa period.

A living room. It is very simple and beautiful Japanese-style room with Tatami, a pair of sliding doors (襖 Fusuma in Japanese) and so on.

I went further backwards, there is a tea room.

A productive demonstration of traditional crafts, called Saga Nishiki (佐賀錦) was held in the tatami room. They have a display of shopping bags and accessories available on sale, but the price is so expensive.

A stylish house and a tasteful garden.

After that I headed to my next visit, the Morinaga House and the Hisatomi House. Details will be posted soon.