Takarazuka
Kohama-juku


Azuchi-Momoyama Period

The Kohama district was originally established as a compound of a temple of the Jodo-Shinshu sect, called Gosho-ji, during the period between 1492 and 1500. Like the other temples of the same sect in the Kinki area, the temple was as a stronghold protected by wild and rugged natural environs which defended itself against enemies. It is said that at the end of the Warring Period (1467-1568) Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his stepson Hidetsugu visited the temple when they went to enjoy a spa in Arima. It is also said that on that occasion Hideyoshi brought home some good water from a well called "Tamanoi" and ordered Sen no Rikyu (the founder of the tea ceremony, chanoyu, 1522-1591) to make him tea with the water.
In the Edo Period (1600-1868), Kohama was well-supported by the government because it was an important traffic center of that area. It was prosperous as a post town called "Kohama-juku," where there were inns, cheap lodging houses, merchant houses, carriers on horses and playhouses.
There was a unique technique for brewing sake in Kohama. It is introduced as the "Kohama method" in a book written by Ihara Saikaku, a famous novelist of the Edo Period.
Furthermore, Kohama is well-known as a town which had many skillful carpenters and plasters. There were master carpenters who contributed their skills to construction of the temple, Namba Mido-Betsuin and restoration of the Hamaguri Gomon gate of the Kyoto Imperial Palace garden.
In Kohama, there are traditional merchant houses, a place called "Kubi-Jizo" where there is an image of a head of a Jizo, and a tomb of a sumo wrestler called Tanikaze Iwagoro who was from Kohama. In 1995, the Takarazuka Municipal Kohama-juku Museum was established in Kohama, where materials of the history and folklore of the Kohama district are preserved and exhibited.

Tourist Information

Source: The Takarazuka municipal government

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