Uchiko

Uchiko's money came from wax - not beeswax but mokuro, pressed from the berries of the wax tree and used for candles, hair dressing and polish, exported in quantity in the nineteenth century. Yokaichi-Gokoku, the preserved street, is about six hundred metres of merchant houses with ochre plaster, latticework and elaborate gable ornament, several belonging to wax families; the Kami-Haga residence includes the workshops and press where the wax was made and is open with the process explained. The other building is Uchiko-za, a kabuki theatre of 1916 restored in the 1980s: a wooden auditorium with box seating on the floor, a revolving stage and a hanamichi walkway, and the machinery below - turned by hand with capstans - can be seen. It is still used for performances. The town is small, quiet and off the main routes.

History

The area, in ancient Iyo Province, prospered as a hub on the Ōzu Highway and a stop on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, and in the Edo period it belonged to the Ōzu Domain or its sub-domain, Niiya; the modern town was set up on 1 December 1889 (Wikipedia, Uchiko, Ehime).

What to look for

• The wax trade - mokuro from wax-tree berries, with the workshops and press preserved.
• A six-hundred-metre street - ochre plaster merchant houses with carved gable ornament.
• Uchiko-za - a 1916 kabuki theatre with a hand-turned revolving stage.
• Under-stage machinery - capstans and traps below the boards, open to see.

When to go

March to November. Half a day. Weekdays are very quiet.

Things to know

The theatre closes when performances or rehearsals are on. The old street is short. Shops shut early and some close midweek. Access without a car means a walk from the station.

Nearby

Ozu is south-west; Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen are north.

Key facts