In this place, you can not only learn about the life of Sakichi but also enjoy the atmosphere of an old farm in western Shizuoka Prefecture. This is a rain cape hung outside of the barn where Sakichi worked on improvement of the loom.
On the opposite side of the path, there was an orchard of mandarin orange trees. The fruits seemed to be ripe enough for eating.
When I walked further toward the hill, I could see persimmon trees as well.
In another place, there were other kind of persimmons. They are bitter and cannot be eaten as they are, however, they can be used to make dried persimmons.
On the foot of the hill, Sakichi made a facility to purify spring water for drinking by using leaves, pebbles, and sand.
I climbed up the hill to get to the observation area.
From the top, I could see Lake Hamana and Hamamatsu beyond it. If it had been fine, Mt. Fuji might have been visible from this spot.
Unfortunately, it looked like rain, so I climbed down the hill soon. However, I was glad to come there just on that day because fragrant olives on the premises were in full bloom. They were planted near the buildings and sent out a sweet aroma.
In fact, I like fragrant olives best of all the blossoms. Every year, when I notice their aroma in the air, I feel glad and relieved. It is a sign that autumn has really arrived. I like dry fresh air in autumn and winter rather than humidity and heat in summer. I often wonder if it is possible to use fragrant olive blossoms for sweets. I have heard that they have fragrant olive tea in China. It sounds delicious!
Autumn is the season of harvest. In the house of Sakichi’s birth, you can see tools used in farms in old days. There was a wooden fanning mill, which was also seen in my grandparents’ house near Lake Hamana when I was little.
This is a cooking stove.
The rooms looked spacious. The house was built in a typical style of a farmhouse in Kosai in old days. The room with hibachi or a heating appliance in the middle was used to bring in crops or make things out of straws, or for visitors, etc. The room behind it had a scroll with the name of Akiha Shrine (known for the deity for fire protection). It was the most important room and used for annual events and guests.
This is a two-storied house Sakichi built for his parents in 1907 when he was forty.
In Enshu or western Shizuoka Prefecture, many detached houses have windbreak fences made of podocarp like this. This area is very windy in winter. In our dialect, we call the plant "hosoba" that means a narrow leaf.
Even on that day, it was blowing a little, and I was worried it would rain. Before leaving Sakichi Toyoda Memorial House, I looked at his parents’ fine house again and then hurried to the train station that is 30-minute walk from there.
Sakichi Toyoda Memorial House
Address: 113-2 Yamaguchi, Kosai-shi, Shizuoka
Tel: 053-576-0064
Open hours: 9:30 - 17:00 (April 1 - September 30)
9:30 - 16:30 (October 1 - March 31)
Closed: Wednesday (except national holidays, in which case the following Thursday will be closed)
January 6 - 8, December 26 - 31
Monday and Tuesday immediately before the last Wednesday in February and those
immediately before the first Wednesday in September
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