Former Yamaichi Hayashi-gumi Silk Manufacturing Office (2)
The former Yamaichi Hayashi-gumi Silk Manufacturing Office in Okaya City, which I had previously visited only from the outside.
I visited the office again to take a look at the interior.
Yamaichi Hayashi-gumi was a silk manufacturing company founded by Sehei Hayashi in 1879, and this office was built in 1921.
Let’s go inside.
Entering the entrance hall and looking to the right. Take off my shoes here and enter the building.
The glass window on the left is the office. Many of the visitors in the early days of the business probably did their business over this counter.
There is another room behind the door at the end of the hall. It may have originally been a reception room. It is now used as a showroom.
When I told the staff that I had come for a tour of the building, she showed me around.
The counter of the office from another angle.
Currently, many looms are located in the office and are used for silk weaving experiences and training.
The counter and the brackets. The counter is made of zelkova wood.
The glass window has some small windows that can be opened and closed.
This is the inside of the office. A flyer for weaving experience was posted.
After leaving the office, there is a staircase.
Walking along the side of the stairs, there is a showroom on the right and a restroom at the end of the hall.
I went up to the second floor. On the east side of the second floor is the auditorium. Currently, the auditorium is also lined with looms.
The ceiling of the auditorium is decorated with plaster.
The speech table on the east side of the auditorium dates from when the building was built. The window in the back would have been a little inconvenient when using the speech table, but it was probably closed with curtains.
This is a Japanese-style room on the second floor.
This is a Western-style room. There are two Western-style rooms and two Japanese-style rooms on the second floor.
The Western-style rooms used to be an executive’s room and a guest room.
This is also an interior of a Western-style room. The walls are boarded at the waist.
This photo was taken from the west side of the building. In the left foreground is a toilet.
Yamaichi Hayashi-gumi changed its name to Misato Silk after the World War II, and then to Shin-ei Kogyo, which later changed its business to the precision industry.
In 2003, the building was transferred from Shin-ei Kogyo to Okaya City, and was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2005.
In 2007, it was recognized as a Heritage of Industrial Modernization by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
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“Former Yamaichi Hayashi-gumi Silk Manufacturing Office" (2025-04-27)