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“Light up the place where you belong. Make the best effort possible and be honest.”

This is a long-treasured value of the Yaegashi family. The hometown,Iwaizumi,is situated in a remote area, surrounded by mountains which made business and farming difficult, people there lived a hard life. So the family has always cared for the quality of life the people in the town.

The beginning of Senkin brewery

In 1854, when US naval officer Commodore Perry appeared in Tokyo Bay, people were astonished to see the huge steaming black ships.  At the same time, far from Tokyo, in Iwaizumi, the fifth generation of the Yaegashi, Kitaro, tried the first pressing of sake. He established a new brewery and started a sake brewing business.

In 1868, the new government was established; “the Meiji Restoration”, one of the greatest events in Japanese history changed the whole of Japan completely, not only the political system, but every aspect of life was changed.  Even in a chaotic situation there was a positive atmosphere in Iwaizumi for getting into a new business.

Kinjuro Yaegashi Sr.

The eldest son, Kinjuro, the 6th generation of the Yaegashi, realized the importance of getting information from Tokyo to catch up with the rapid modernization of society. Since the feudal era, the Yaegashi family business had been based on the local environment, such as forestry(lumber and charcoal selling), agriculture(rice and other grain production), household handicraft industry (silk) and cattle raising.

To overcome the poor harvest caused by severe weather, he encouraged cultivating new rice paddy fields and establishing irrigation facilities which led to job opportunities for the people and raised productivity.

And he was engaged in the transportation business, too, using the advantage that Iwaizumi is an outpost along the route that connects the coast and Morioka, the capital city of Iwate, and beyond to Tokyo. In those days teams of oxen led by bullocky or ox-drivers were used to transport products from the coast, for example, sea weeds, salts or iron sand.  Heavy loads were carried on the back of oxen, as in the famous folk song ”Nambu Ushi-Oi Uta”(Oxen Song in Nambu ) that depicts their travel on steep winding trail.

In 1883 a large fire devastated the whole town of Iwaizumi. In spite of disastrous surroundings Kinjuro Sr. decided to rebuild the family business. He moved to a new place to build a new brewery. Since then the wooden building has been in use and consists of brewing facilities and a residential area.  Without using nails, beams and posts are interlocked, so it is earthquake resistant. For fireproofing they placed storehouses made of timber columns and clay on each side of the house.

7 years later, in 1890, the sake was finally sold under the brand name “Yaezakura”.

Riu Yaegashi- wife of Kinjuro

His wife “Riu” is said to have been a gutsy, hard-working woman with a strong will. She dedicated her life to supporting her husband and after her husband’s death, she showed strong leadership in organizing many employees and their families.  Rebuilding the family temple, the burnt down “Un-Gan-ji”, is one of her endeavors. She still is respected as a “restorer”. Her voluntary work for orphaned children and providing job opportunities and foods for employees meant a social welfare in the days when there were few official supports for the people.

And she also had a technique for silk dyeing using Shikon roots which is handed down from generation to generation in the Yaegashi family. The main workers in the silk industry were women, from growing silk worm to reeling, spinning and weaving.  She enjoyed her life and died at the age of 82.

Kinjuro Yaegashi Jr.

The 7th generation, Kinjuro Jr. had inherited businesses from his father and devoted his life to developing the local economy. He also was elected a member of the Iwate prefectural assembly. The largest concern for him was the economic disparity between the Iwaizumi region and central Iwate.  He knew the importance of transportation connecting these two areas. So he introduced automobiles which were not popular at all at that time and started transporting goods by car, established a power station and convinced the assembly to establish a railway.

However, he had to overcome lots of difficulties during his life, such as the Showa Depression(1927), The Sanriku Tsunami (1933) and the defeat of the Second World War(1945).

Fuji Yaegashi- wife of Kinjuro Jr.

His wife, Fuji, was educated in Tokyo in her younger days, then she came back to Iwaizumi for marriage. She learned the dyeing method using Shikon from her mother in-law Riu, and was honored to be an Intangible Asset Holder in Iwate prefecture．She was very busy with household or family affairs, as she had to organize seasonal events, such as New Year’s Day celebrations, seasonal cleanings, Buddhist memorial events or get-togethers in the community. Events regarding rice harvest are especially important throughout the year. It starts with planting rice seedlings in the spring and ends with the harvest in fall. Products such as soy-sauce and miso were home-made by women and growing silk worms was also done by female workers. Fuji was warm-hearted and she also supported children who had lost their parents or were from the poor families.

The Shikon dyeing and the Yaegashi family

Since the feudal era, the Shikon dyeing technique has been handed down from generation to generation in the Yaegashi family. The dye used in Shikon dyeing is roots of the Murasaki (Lithospermum erythrorhizon or Purple Gromwell) plant. In the feudal era, the roots were submitted as a levy to the local rulers, for in the upland areas rice production is limited and the roots can also be used for medicine. Silk production was once a thriving industry; dyeing the skeins of thread played an important part in silk manufacturing. Articles dyed with Shikon were dedicated to the Shogun or the royal family as a token of gratitude or as a souvenir

These days environmental conditions are changing, the species itself is listed as an endangered IB species in the red data book. It has become impossible to collect indigenous plants or roots now.