Let's learn more about the history and culture of Asahikawa! III

The Plum Tree

The large plum tree in the schoolyard of Asahikawa Daiichi Primary School in Higashi Asahikawa Town is estimated to be over 100 years old.
It is a rare example of a plum tree growing in its northernmost limit, and was designated as a cultural and natural monument by Asahikawa in 1966.

The tree is said to have been planted in 1905 by the headmaster of Higashi-Asahikawa Village's Daiichi Education Center (the former name of Daiichi Elementary School), Mr. Takehei Yashima, who had brought the sapling from Sapporo to commemorate the retirement of the first teacher.

There used to be one red and one white plum tree, but the red plum tree on the right side died in 2000, now, only the white plum tree remains.

Sericultural private house

After 1898, groups of people from Fukushima chose to settle in the Peipan area of Higashi-Asahikawa (Yonehara and Mizuho).
At that time, the main industry in Fukushima was sericulture, and with the encouragement of the provincial government, the Peipan area became known as one of the best sericultural areas in Hokkaido.

In 1909, Mr. Shigematsu Matsuura, a native of Fukushima, built the "Sericultural Traditional House," a replica of a traditional sericultural house in his hometown. It was designated as a cultural monument by the Asahikawa City in 1973.

The building has an atrium on the ground floor, which provides the necessary lighting, ventilation and thermal insulation for raising silkworms.
Every part of the building, including the porch on the first floor, the large furnace and the chimney, has been designed according to traditional sericultural techniques.
It used to be possible to enter the building, but it is not clear whether we still can or not. Please contact the Asahikawa City Office if you are interested.
A model of the “Sericultural Traditional House" is on display in the museum.

Tondenhei illustrated Story / Tonden Picture Scroll / Asahikawa Heison (Higashi Asahikawa Tonden) Company Records

The Asahikawa Heison Memorial Museum, located next to the Asahikawa Shrine in East Asahikawa, is the only folk museum in Hokkaido dedicated to the Tondenhei. Over a thousand and several hundred historical materials and relics are exhibited here.

In the museum you can see the reconstruction of a Tondenhei house, how the colonisers used to live, and what kind of furniture and agricultural equipment they used to use.

Among those relics, 121 volumes of the Asahikawa Heison Squadron records were designated as Asahikawa City Historical and Cultural Properties in 1981 and 26 more volumes were added in 2006. One illustrated story book and 4 illustrated scrolls were designated as Hokkaido Cultural Properties in 2016.

Next to the Asahikawa Heison Memorial Museum, there is a tree called "Kato's Pine". The tree was transplanted from the Major General Kato Tateo’s garden. The Major General Kato Tateo was a famous pilot who served as the commander of the Kato Hayabusa Fighter Squadron in the 64th division of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service.

In the building of the Asahikawa Heison Memorial Hall, newspapers reporting on the great deeds of Major General Kato and the desk he used as a boy are displayed.

Name: Asahikawa Heison Memorial Hall
Location: Hokkaido, Asahikawa, Higashiasahikawa Minami 1 Jo, 6 Chome−3−26, Asahikawa Heison Kinenkan
Telephone: 0166-36-2323
Opening hours: 9:30 - 16:30
Closed: Tuesday
Parking: Available

Conclusion

In this article, we have talked about the "Tondenhei illustrated Story book and the Tondenhei Emaki," cultural assets designated by Hokkaido, the "Plum Tree," "the Sericultural House" and "Asahikawa Heison (Higashi Asahikawa Tonden) Company Records," cultural assets designated by Asahikawa City. Why not take a look at the history and culture of Asahikawa, while you are here?