Deep Shimane you don't know about - Unshu Hirata "Cotton Road" where new stories exist in history

Ai Nishimura
Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.

Walk along the "Cotton Street" lined with namako-kabe (walls) and lattice-framed townhouses

The Cotton Street in Hirata-cho, Izumo City is a 15-minute walk from Ichibata Electric Railway's Unshu Hirata Station and a 15-minute drive from Izumo Airport, and the old houses lining the river still give a sense of the area's prosperity.
During the Edo period, Hirata developed as a bustling market town and reached its economic peak, and large mansions like this one along the Cotton Street once lined the entire Hirata area. In the Showa period, they were gradually modernized through urban planning, and gradually disappeared due to land development and road widening.

However, since the Cotton Street was spared from the development of the town and the widening of the roads, it was able to retain the appearance of the old Hirata. It has become a popular spot for people who are attracted by its nostalgic atmosphere.
For over 20 years, locals have been working to preserve the townscape and utilize its scenery and historical culture, and the number of inns and restaurants renovated from traditional townhouses and storehouses is on the rise. The area is transforming into an attractive town where old and new coexist side by side.
I decided to take a stroll along this street.

The only ginger candy specialty store in Japan, "Kuruma-ya Shogato Honpo," is a long-established store that has been in business for over 300 years. They make traditional sweets using recipes passed down from father to son.
We use only "Shussai ginger" that can only be grown in the Shussai area of Hikawa-cho, Izumo City, and slowly simmer it with sugar, but the spiciness and translucent yellow color of ginger can only be reproduced with Shussai ginger. When you put a piece of ginger sugar in your mouth, it melts easily, and at the end, you are left with a refreshing taste of ginger.

I was attracted by the aroma of soy sauce and visited "Mochida Soy Sauce Shop". I learned a lot about the history of the Cotton Road from the kind mother who made me want to visit again!
You can eat delicious grilled rice balls made with the brewery's pride and joy, "Hagoromo Sashimi Soy Sauce." When you unwrap the bamboo skin, a fragrant aroma greets you. The large rice balls are soaked in sweet and salty soy sauce, giving them a nostalgic taste. Other popular items include the soy sauce soft serve ice cream with a caramel-like flavor and mitarashi dango.

The next stop was Third Barrel Brewery, which opened in November 2021. It is the first craft beer brewery in the Hirata area. It is a unique spot that stands out as a new base on the Cotton Road, with the theme of creating deep relationships with the local community and the excitement of getting excited, and providing excitement and inspiration that will warm your daily life up a little.
The brewers are the younger generation, in their 20s and 30s, and they make a wide variety of high-quality beers in small quantities. There are always 7-8 types of standard products and collaboration products on display, all with a rich design, and draft beer is available for purchase from the taps.

This postcard shop was built in a building that was originally a post office. There are 300 brightly colored postcards depicting scenery of Hirata and the surrounding area, which can be purchased for 100 yen each. Since it is unmanned, you can feel free to enter, and the ease of being able to take home a postcard of your memories of the tourist spots you have visited will make you want to stop by.
Outside, there are oracles and fortune slips in the Izumo dialect (both unmanned), making it a spot that makes you want to stop and take a look.

There are also places along the road where you can enjoy some quiet time, such as rest areas and benches in front of shops.
There are many ways to enjoy the area, such as taking photos at the photogenic spots with their old lattices and namako walls, or enjoying shopping and gourmet food in the historic streets.
Enjoy the Cotton Road while soothing yourself in the town's gentle atmosphere and the calm flow of the river.

Cotton Street (Parking information, etc.)

Kurumaya Ginger Sugar Shop

Mochida Soy Sauce Shop

Third Barrel Brewery

Postcard Shop

Small town handicrafts and traditions: "Handmade bookbinding and paper modeling at Agoya," "Watanabe lacquerware," and "Hirata decorations"

The first place we visited was Agoya, the workshop and shop of Naoki Ago.
Ago is an artist who creates notebooks and paper crafts, and handles everything from selecting the paper and cutting it, to choosing the thread color, and binding and binding the book.
This alone gives the impression of incredible attention to detail, but when you actually see and touch it, you will see that it is endowed with astonishing precision and beauty.
Ago adds further decoration to the notebook in the form of paper cuttings.
For example, there is a mosaic with 800 pieces of 1mm square colored paper embedded in it. These colorful, small pieces of colored paper are not simply cut and pasted, but are "fitted" into place. 800 1mm squares are cut out of the backing paper of the notebook, and the colored paper is patiently fitted into them one by one. Because they are fitted together, there are no bumps that can occur when the paper is pasted, resulting in a smooth surface. This is mosaic art made precisely by hand, not by machine or printing.
You can feel the quality of the notebooks and diaries just by touching them. There are also framed art pieces, so it's a place you can take your time to look at. Recently, they have been in high demand for exhibitions in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and their activities continue to expand.

Yakumo-nuri lacquerware, which originated in Matsue, is a representative traditional craft of Shimane Prefecture. Patterns are drawn on the wood with mixed-color lacquer, and then layers of natural lacquer are applied, and the design is then polished and ground to bring it out.
The more you use it, the more vivid the patterns become, so it is important that you use it for a long time. Within the prefecture, they are integrated into everyday life as Japanese utensils such as confectionery dishes, trays, and bowls.
After 25 years of training and working at an Izumo Yakumo lacquerware workshop, Naoto Watanabe went independent and opened his own business, "Watanabe Lacquerware," in his hometown of Hirata.
Currently, the focus is on lacquerware that is painted with various patterns, and these are sold in stores as gifts and souvenirs.

The last thing we will introduce is the traditional culture of the Hirata district, "Hirata Isshiki Kazari." It originated from the folk art of "Mitate," which was popular in big cities such as Osaka, and developed uniquely in the Hirata district. "Mitate" refers to a form that expresses something different while maintaining and asserting the original form.
The "Mitate" tradition gradually fell into disuse in various regions, but in the Hirata area it has been passed down by the people under the name "Isshiki Kazari." It is believed that the reason why "Mitate" did not fall into disuse in Hirata is because Isshiki Kazari was performed as a religious ceremony and dedicated to shrines and temples, and therefore became deeply rooted in the lives of the people.
A set of ornaments is an ornament that uses tools to create a famous scene or a character from myth or history. There are two main rules for making them: if it's pottery, it's a set of pottery, if it's Buddhist altar tools, it's a set of Buddhist altar tools, and the items used in the production must be of one type, either "material" or "purpose." The other rule is that the tools used must not be modified in any way, such as by drilling holes. Therefore, wire is used to create "supports" to connect each tool, and these supports are then connected with more wire to assemble a large object.
Currently, a competition is held every year, and activities are being carried out to pass on the tradition. While such folk arts are disappearing in various places, Hirata Isshiki Kazari has been highly praised from all quarters, and has become a famous product representing Hirata, being exhibited at art museums in the metropolitan area and covered by media nationwide.
There are many decorations on display in the town of Hirata, so take a stroll and feel the tradition. You can also experience making decorations at the Cotton Highway Communication Center on the Cotton Highway.

Agoya

Watanabe Lacquerware

Hirata decoration set

Cotton Street Communication Center