【Traditional of streets and houses3】伝統的な町並み3

滋賀県・近江八幡市の商家町を紹介します。

琵琶湖の東岸中央あたりに発達した町で、江戸時代に近江商人と呼ばれる人達に

よって栄えました。JR近江八幡駅から、およそ２㎞の新町周辺に位置します。

　近江商人とは、近江に本拠地を置く、他国稼ぎ商人のことです。取り扱い商品

は、呉服、麻布などの繊維が中心で、関東、信濃、奥羽地方、畿内地方と広範囲

でした。稼いだお金で商家を作り、この町並みが形成されました。

重要文化財の「旧西川家住宅」は、有名です。

https://www.omi8.com/

　滋賀県の伝統料理を紹介します。

●鮒ずし

　魚のフナをご飯と塩で発酵させたお寿司です。においがきついのですが、納豆と同じくらいの臭いです。そのまま食べたり、お茶漬けにします。

●近江牛（おうみうし）

　近江牛の歴史は古く、豊臣秀吉のいた430年前からからありました。ただ、秀吉が食したという記事を見つけることはできませんでした。しかし、干し肉にして、将軍家へ献上したと記録されていました。三大和牛の１つですが、比較的リーズナブルで知られています。

琵琶湖の周りは、みどころがたくさんあります。レンタサイクルして、水郷の

町”八幡堀エリア”、織田信長の居城、”安土城跡”へ行っても楽しそうです。

I introduce a merchant’s town of Omihachiman-city in Shiga.

This town developed in around the centre of the east bank of Lake Biwa,

and it prospered by people called the “Omi’s merchant” in the Edo era.

Here is located around Shinmachi of about 2km from JR Omi-Hachiman

Station.

An Omi’s merchant put a stronghold to Omi and worked in other countries

to get income. The handling product is mainly fabrics for kimono and

linen cloth, so they worked at a wide area, such as Kanto, Shinano, the Ou

district, and near Kyoto district. They made a merchant’s houses by the

money that they earned, and this cityscape was formed by them.

“The old Nishikawa’s house” is famous as the important cultural property.

https://www.omi8.com/

I introduce some traditional dishes of Shiga.

●Funa-Zushi

It is sushi made of fermented crucian carp with rice and salt. The smell is hard, but it smells like the same degree as natto. you can eat as it is or an Ochazuke.

●Omi-Ushi

The history of the Omi beef was old, and it has been there since Toyotomi Hideyoshi lived, who is a military commander 430 years ago. But I did not find an article that Hideyoshi ate it. However, the then people made dried meat and was recorded what they offered to the shogunate it. It is one of the three major Japanese beef, but it is known that we can eat relatively reasonable.

The circumference of Lake Biwa has a lot of highlights. You might be

happy if you are rent-a-bicycle, because there are “Yahata moat area” of the

riverside district, and “Azuchi Castle trace” of Oda Nobunaga, who is

military commander, in the slightly away place.