西川甚五郎邸・史料館
この住宅は現在では寝具などの繊維製品で有名な「西川」の創業者一族の家である。創業者の西川仁右衛門（1549-1644）は、17歳で商店を創業した。36歳のとき、南津田村から八幡（現・近江八幡市）に移り、八幡山城の工事を監督した。その2年後、八幡に蚊帳や畳表を売る店「山形屋」を開き、17世紀以降、江戸で商売をして巨利を得る会社の礎を築いたのである。
1587年から1942年まで、西川家の人々がこの家に住んでいた。仁右衛門の四男で、1628年に家督を継いだ西川甚五郎（別名「甚五」、1582-1675）の名を冠する。甚五郎は、蚊帳を萌黄色に染めて見栄えをよくするなど、巧みな販売戦術で将来の西川の成功の礎を築いたと言われている。
また、敷地内には西川家の歴史を伝える史料館や、お土産や西川の商品を販売する売店がある。
Nishikawa Jingoro House and Museum
This house was the home of the family that founded the Nishikawa company, now best known for its bedding and other textiles. The founder, Nishikawa Niemon (1549–1644), established a trading business when he was 17 years old. At 36, he moved from his home in the village of Minamitsuda to the nearby town of Hachiman (now Omihachiman) when he was commissioned to supervise construction at Hachimanyama Castle. Two years later, he opened a shop in Hachiman called Yamagataya that sold mosquito nets and tatami mat surface covers, laying the foundations for a company that was to profit greatly through its business in Edo (now Tokyo) from the seventeenth century onward.
Members of the Nishikawa family resided in this house from 1587 to 1942. The structure bears the name of Nishikawa Jingoro (also Jingo; 1582–1675), who was the fourth son of Niemon and took charge of the family business after his father in 1628. Jingoro is credited with laying the groundwork for the Nishikawa company’s future success through shrewd marketing tactics, including dyeing the company’s mosquito nets green to make them more visually pleasing.
Also on the premises are a museum that tells the story of the Nishikawa family through the centuries and a shop selling souvenirs and Nishikawa products.
