Omihachiman

Omihachiman was laid out in 1585 around a castle that lasted barely a decade, but the moat it left, the Hachiman-bori, became the town's transport link to Lake Biwa and the base of its merchants. The Omi shonin traded across Japan from here, and the principle attributed to them - sanpo yoshi, good for the seller, good for the buyer, good for society - is still quoted in Japanese business writing as an early statement of stakeholder thinking. Their houses line the streets behind the moat, white-walled with dark timber and storehouses, several open to visit. Flat boats are poled along the moat between reed beds; the reeds are harvested for thatch and screens and the landscape is designated as important cultural scenery. William Merrell Vories, an American who came to teach English in 1905 and stayed, designed dozens of buildings in and around the town in a Western idiom and several survive.

History

The town began as a post station around Musa-juku on the Tōsandō, later the Nakasendō, and under Toyotomi Hidetsugu its centre moved to a castle town at the foot of Hachimanyama. In 1905 the American architect William Merrell Vories came to teach English at the commercial high school, and he stayed and spent most of his working life here (Wikipedia, Ōmihachiman).

What's there

• The Hachiman moat - poled boats between reed beds, the town's old link to Lake Biwa.
• Omi merchant houses - white-walled residences and storehouses, several open.
• Sanpo yoshi - a trading code requiring benefit to seller, buyer and society.
• Vories buildings - Western-idiom work by an American who settled here in 1905.

When to go

April to November; boats do not run in winter conditions. Half a day.

Good to know

Boat trips are seasonal and weather-dependent. The old district is a short walk. Buses from the station are needed and are infrequent. Some merchant houses open only on limited days.

Nearby

Hikone Castle is north-east; Kyoto is west.

Key facts