商家資料館（旧仁科家住宅）
この建物は、20世紀初頭に、地元産の絹の取引で富を成した、仁科源太郎という都留の有名な商人の住居兼、店だったものです。この地域の絹は、高品質で値段も手頃とあって、大変人気がありました。
1993年、都留市重要有形文化財に指定された後、「商家資料館」として公開されました。ここでは、絹の取引や、20世紀初頭の日常生活に関する展示品を100点以上見ることができます。正面玄関は、土間と、高床の畳の間が特徴で、かつては仁科の絹商店でした。この部屋には、昔この店で売られていた絹織物の見本がたくさんあります。玄関の奥は、1階と2階がある住居になっています。骨董品の家具や電化製品、凝った手彫りの木工品、障子、仏壇、その他、いろいろなものが展示されています。また、この家は、細部まで完璧な西洋風の応接間が特徴で、当時の外国文化の人気がうかがえます。
Merchant’s Museum (Former Nishina Family Residence)
This building is the former home and business of Nishina Gentaro. He was a prominent Tsuru merchant who became wealthy in the early twentieth century by trading in locally-produced silks. These were extremely popular for being both of good quality yet affordable.
After being designated as an Important Tangible Cultural Asset of Tsuru City in 1993, the building was reopened as the Merchant’s Museum. Visitors here can view more than 100 objects related to the silk trade and to early twentieth-century daily life. The main entry features a dirt floor and a raised tatami (traditional Japanese mat) floor area, and was once Nishina’s silk shop. In this room, visitors can see many samples of the types of silk cloth that were once sold in the shop. Beyond the entryway lies the living quarters, covering both the first and second floors. A variety of items ranging from antique furniture and appliances, intricate hand-carved woodwork and paper shoji window shades, the family’s personal shrine, and much more are displayed here. The house also features a Western-style parlor complete in every detail, a testament to the popularity of foreign culture at the time.
