A walking tour on Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine and the Shimoyoshida Nishiura district in the city of Fujiyoshida in Yamanashi Prefecture was conducted on July 31, 2023. The guests were two women from New Zealand. This is a very popular tour (Refer to the articles on April 26, 2018 and August 3, 2023). Shimo means down or south, so Shimoyoshida is the south region of Yoshida (or Fujiyoshida) town. Fujiyoshida is the current name of the municipality.
Two-chome (block) and three-chome areas of Honcho Street in the Shimoyoshida region are popular picture-taking spots where you can see Mount Fuji towering over a narrow shopping street with colorful signboards and cluttered overhead-power lines. The Shimoyoshida area in Fujiyoshida town is also home to a number of weaving shops. Although it is rather quiet now; however, it is used to be a bustling textile production region that dates back to the Heian Period, more than 1,000 years ago, until the post-war era.
The clear water that runs from Mount Fuji is exceptionally suitable for dying and production of high-quality textile. Fujiyoshida has been known for its high technology and its quality textile production. Because of Mount Fuji, an active volcanic mountain, the soils in the fujiyoshida region are andosols formed in volcanic tephra and unsuitable for farming. Therefore, the locals engaged in raising silkworm and weaving from early on. The weaving industry of Fujiyoshida suffered a blow when imported textiles starting pouring into the country in the 1960s, and the size of the industry kept shrinking during the 1970s and 1980s. Despite the setbacks, the weavers of Fujiyoshida have transmitted their skills and preserved the local craft. A lot of local weaving businesses have specialized in niche products unsuited for mass production and branched out in new directions, and they have kept producing outstanding elegance. That is why they are still here now.
Honcho Street is located in the middle of the Shimoyoshida region, and the east side of Honcho Street is called Higashiura and the west side is called Nishiura. Ura means back. In the peak days of the weaving industry, it is said that the sound of the weaving machines from the Higashiura district and the sound of the drunk people from the Nishiura district were heard. Today, you can observe the remains of the Showa Era structures in the Nishiura district. The nostalgic backstreets, shops and houses have been maintained in the Nishiura district. In a way, Higashiura used be the wholesale district and Nishiura used to be the entertainment district.