It was approximately 400 years ago that Tachibana Muneshige became the lord of Yanagawa Castle. Since then, the Tachibana clan has been weaving its history together with the city of Yanagawa. Here we introduce the history of the Tachibana clan, which has resided in Yanagawa along with the lives of five most important people in the 400-year history of the Tachibana clan.
Tachibana Muneshige (Azuchi-Momoyama period)
Under the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the feudal warlord Tachibana Muneshige entered Yanagawa Castle in 1587. Muneshige was a vassal of the Otomo clan, a feudal lord in Kyushu, but Hideyoshi recognized his military merit and promoted him to a feudal lord. It was not only in warfare that Muneshige excelled. He was also a shrewd politician and was trusted by the people of Yanagawa.
Muneshige was forced to leave his domain after joining the side of the western army in the Battle of Sekigahara. Later, Muneshige would experience life as a ronin, but his military exploits during the Toyotomi era and his character were recognized by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and he was restored as the lord of the Yanagawa domain. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Tachibana Muneshige became the only feudal lord who was able to recover his old domain after being driven out of it.
Tachibana Sadayoshi (Edo period)
Tachibana Sadayoshi, the fifth lord of the Yanagawa domain during the Edo period, was an exceptional feudal lord who was attentive to the lives of the people of Yanagawa, including asking the shogunate for money during the Kyoho famine. During Sadayoshi's reign, the residences of his concubines and sons were moved from the Yanagawa Castle's Ninomaru (secondary circle of defense) area to the current site of Ohana, near Yanagawa Castle, where a mansion was built. This area was then decorated with seasonal flowers and became known as “Ohana Batake” (field of flowers). This is the origin of our company's name today, "Ohana."
Tachibana Tomoharu (Meiji period)
During the Meiji period, following the end of the samurai era, the Tachibana clan became a family of counts. Tachibana Tomoharu, the 14th head of the Tachibana clan, maintained the residence that is the foundation of today's “Ohana.” Tomoharu used his knowledge of agriculture he learned in Tokyo to establish the Nakayama Agricultural Experiment Station using his own private funds for the promotion of agriculture in the Chikugo region. At the experiment station, trial cultivation was conducted with various fruit and vegetable seeds from all over the world, which at that time had not yet taken root in Japan. The vegetable that was developed at this experiment station at this time was the “takana (Miike takana),” a combination of Chinese green cabbage and Japanese purple takana.
He also continued to value his ties to the local community and dedicated himself to the development of Yanagawa as a whole. Tomoharu's passion for the promotion of agriculture was passed on to his son Akinori, the 15th head of the family, who developed a fruit farm on the family property named Kikko-en to further promote “Miyagawa Wase,” a variety of mandarin orange that had been discovered and researched in Yanagawa. The “Miyagawa Wase Satsuma mandarin” later took first place in a national competition and became a recommended variety, and it was a great asset to Ohana even when the ryotei business was underperforming.
Tachibana Kazuo and Ayako (Postwar period)
Born into the Tachibana family in 1910, Ayako lived through the Meiji, Taisho, Showa, and Heisei eras, all of which were marked by rapid changes in the course of history. She grew up surrounded by servants as the daughter of a count, and at the age of 24 she married Kazuo, who would go on to become the 16th head of the family. After relocating due to Kazuo's job at the Imperial Forestry Bureau, which manages forests for the imperial family, she spent her days living in Hokkaido and Kiso as a housewife. After the war, the former imperial families were impoverished by agrarian reform, estate taxes, and inheritance taxes. Kazuo and Ayako returned to Yanagawa in 1950 and decided to use the former count's residence to run a ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant) business. This marked the birth of the ryotei ryokan “Ohana.”
The people of Yanagawa were astonished to hear that a lord and lady were running a ryotei restaurant. At the time, they became the topic of many conversations, with people saying, “It's normal for a lord to frequent a ryotei restaurant, but I've never heard of anyone running a ryotei restaurant,” and “You'll be the laughingstock of the town if you fail." Even so, Ayako, with her natural cheerfulness, encouraged Kazuo, saying, “We'll make it somehow,” and they spent their days struggling with the relatives, servants who stayed behind, and the people they were introduced to.
It took a long time to get the business on track, but today Ohana is a popular tourist attraction in Yanagawa and a cultural facility that conveys the culture of the feudal lords to the present.
And now
The first lord of the Yanagawa domain, Tachibana Muneshige, gave up his territory in the Battle of Sekigahara and returned to Yanagawa 20 years later. After World War II, when the Japanese peerage system was abolished, Kazuo and Ayako, the 16th generation of the family, did not give up the Ohana, but kept it by starting their own ryotei ryokan (Japanese-style restaurant and inn) business.
Thanks to the relentless efforts of our ancestors and to those who have always supported Ohana, Ohana remains with the Tachibana clan and Yanagawa even now, some 300 years later, and continues to make its mark on history. Currently, the entire 7,000 tsubo (approx. 23,000 m²) site surrounded by water channels is designated as a national place of scenic beauty under the name of "Tachibana-shi Teien." In particular, the “Shoto-en Garden,” “Seiyo-kan” (western-style building), Grand Hall, living room, kasei-kyoku (office), and gatehouse are extremely rare as existing cultural assets in Japan, as they retain the appearance of the count's residence as it was about 100 years ago.
Looking back on the history of Ohana, we are reminded once again that we would like to continue to pass on Ohana to the future, even 100 years from now. We will continue to be a place where visitors can experience firsthand the story of the Tachibana clan, its history, and the charm of its cultural assets through a variety of experiences.
Chizuka Tachibana, 18th head of the Tachibana clan and current head of Ohana
One hundred years. That is longer than most people's lifetimes. People involved with Ohana have passed on to the next generation what will remain even after they are gone from this world. The audio guide traces the stories of five members of the Tachibana clan, who are essential to the history of Ohana. We hope that you will spend some time admiring this cultural asset, listening to our story, and thinking about what you yourself would like to pass on to the next 100 years. We invite you to contemplate your thoughts at Ohana's Grand Hall, where a soft breeze blows through.
Audio guide: What we want to pass on to the next 100 years
