[Former Den'emon Ito Residence]
Wakamatsu-ku, Kitakyushu City, where the Wakamatsu Showroom is located, once prospered as the largest coal port in Japan. This coal was produced in Chikuho, one of the largest coal mining areas in Japan. Chikuho refers to the central region of Fukuoka Prefecture, and from the Meiji to Taisho periods, the Chikuho coal fields were responsible for approximately 50% of domestic coal production. Following Aso, Kaishima, and Yasukawa, the “Three Families of Chikuho,” was Den'emon Ito, a coal mining magnate.
Den'emon Ito was born in 1861 in Iizuka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and grew up in a poor family, working as a fish peddler and boatman. Later, the coal mining business he started with his father took off, and he expanded the business one after another until he became one of the “coal mine kings of Chikuho. The former Den'emon Ito residence is a large mansion with 25 rooms built by Ito on a vast site of approximately 2300 tsubo (about 1,000 square meters), and was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 2020. When he welcomed his daughter, Akiko (Byakuren), Count Sakimitsu Yanagihara's daughter who had remarried after the death of his first wife, he brought in palace carpenters from Kyoto to carry out extensive renovations. The lavish craftsmanship of these artisans can be seen throughout the residence. Many of you may be familiar with the tumultuous story of the “political marriage” between the Yanagihara family by a 25-year age difference due to their financial difficulties, and the later elopement of Hakuren and the “open letter of insulation” to Den'emon, as seen in TV dramas.
Entering the mansion from the front entrance, the first thing that will surprise you is the Western-style reception room. The Art Nouveau-style mantelpiece and beautiful diamond-shaped stained glass windows are a sight to behold, and the Western-style structure is hard to imagine from the purely Japanese exterior. The second-floor White Lotus room overlooks a beautiful Japanese garden. The residence is said to be the first of its kind in Kyushu. The residence also has a flush toilet, said to be the first in Kyushu, and everywhere you can see how Den'emon Ito put his heart and soul into his residence for Byakuren.
How about an outing course to visit places connected by coal, Wakamatsu and Chikuho? It takes about an hour by car from the Wakamatsu Showroom to the former Den'emon Ito residence, and although it takes a little longer, it is possible to get there by public transportation via JR or a local bus. Near the former Den'emon Ito residence is also Aso Ouraso. We look forward to seeing you at our Wakamatsu showroom, where a pleasant breeze blows through.
Wakamatsu Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/jp/showroom/wakamatsu.html
Former Den'emon Ito Residence
https://maps.app.goo.gl/CoHGiPENPKRznavF8
Aso Oura-so Special Autumn Open House
https://kankou-iizuka.jp/topic_5/
References
https://www.kankou-iizuka.jp/denemon/
https://www.aso-group.jp/history/achievement_18.html
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BC%8A%E8%97%A4%E4%BC%9D%E5%8F%B3%E8%A1%9B%E9%96%80
https://www.city.iizuka.lg.jp/shokokanko/kyoiku/leisure/kanko/dennemon/index.html
