Tomioka Jin'ya
History
Tomioka-jin'ya, also called Tomioka-daikansho, was established in 1612 under Nakano Shigeyoshi, a hatamoto (bannerman) of the Edo Shogunate. The Shogunate established Tomioka-jin'ya as a relay point for the transportation of grindstones produced in Tosawa village. Tomioka-jin'ya was the centre of a small fief valued at 3,000 koku. The jin'ya was short-lived, but nonetheless a town was established around it, referred to as 'new town', by relocating merchants and tradesmen migrated from Miyazaki, a nearby village where there was formerly a yamajiro (mountaintop fort). Four wholesalers and three dealers in grindstones were established in the fledgling town. However, Nakano Shigeyoshi, the jin'ya's only administrator (as a daikan (Shogunal deputy)), was soon given a new assignment and the jin'ya was decommissioned (in 1616 the Nanokaichi-jin'ya, a daimyō jin'ya rather than a daikan jin'ya, was built nearby (see: Nanokaichi Jin'ya)). The surrounding village survived the jin'ya, becoming the town of Tomioka, and in the early Meiji period the Tomioka Silk Mill was constructed on the site of Tomioka-jin'ya. The silk mill's plot has the same dimensions as the jin'ya, measuring roughly 200m². Tomioka-jin'ya was surrounded by a moat on three sides about 8m wide; on the south side it overlooked the Kabura River from a 20m high terrace.
Visit Notes
There's nothing to see of Tomioka-jin'ya and the site is now that of Tomioka Silk Mill. The mill ceased all operations in 1987 and is now open to the public as a museum; in 2014 it was made a 'World Heritage Site' under UNESCO.
Castle Profile | |
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English Name | Tomioka Jin'ya |
Japanese Name | 富岡陣屋 |
Alternate Names | Tomioka-daikansho |
Founder | Nakano Shigeyoshi |
Year Founded | 1612 |
Castle Type | Flatland |
Castle Condition | Ruins only |
Historical Period | Edo Period |
Features | |
Visitor Information | |
Access | Jōshū-Tomioka Station on the Jōshin Line; 10 minute walk. |
Visitor Information | Access Limited |
Time Required | N/A |
Location | Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture |
Coordinates | 36° 15' 22.39" N, 138° 53' 17.81" E |
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Admin | |
Added to Jcastle | 2022 |
Contributor | ART |
Admin Year Visited | Viewer Contributed |
Friends of JCastle | |
Masaki Shibata |
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