From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: °′″N, °′″E
Kurashiki (倉敷市; -shi) is an historic city located to the west of Okayama, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea.
As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 433,477 and the density of 1,450.14 persons per km². The total area is 298.92 km².
[edit] History
The modern city of Kurashiki was founded on April 1, 1928. Previously, it was the site of clashes between the Heike and Genji clans during the Heian period. It gradually developed as a riverport; during the Edo period, it became an area directly controlled by the Shogunate. Distinctive white-walled, black-tiled warehouses were built to store goods. During the Meiji Restoration (Japan's Industrial Revolution period), factories were built, including the Ohara Spinning Mill which still stands as the nostalgic tourist attraction Ivy Square.[1]
[edit] Attractions
19th-century warehouses line this quay in the Bikan district of Kurashiki. Nowadays, many of them host merchants of artisanal local wares.
The main canal in the Bikan district of Kurashiki.
- Kurashiki is the home to Japan's first Western art museum, the Ohara Museum of Art. Established in 1930 by Magosaburu Ohara, it contains masterpieces by El Greco, Monet, Matisse, Gauguin, and Renoir. The collection also has fine examples of Asian and contemporary art. The museum itself is housed in a neo-Classical building.
- The ancient merchant quarter, called the Bikan historical area. This area of the city is surrounded by almost unique examples of 17th century wooden warehouses called kura (倉) painted white with traditional black tiles, along a canal framed with weeping willows and filled with koi. The area is extraordinarily picturesque, and is a popular tourist destination. One of the city's former town halls was located in the Kurashiki Kan, an impressive European style building constructed in 1917.
- A Tivoli theme park was built in 1998, based on the theme park of the same name in Copenhagen, and is popular with local Japanese.
[edit] Colleges and Universities
- Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts
[edit] Lodging
- Ryokan Kurashiki, a well-known ryokan in the Bikan district, located in what was formerly a traditional warehouse. Includes a tea garden and a lovely collection of European and Japanese antiques.
[edit] References
- ^ Kurashiki's History. City of Kurashiki (August 7, 2006).
[edit] External links
