HOSOTSUJI IHEE Museum
- Highlight
- 1932 logo mark showing amazing design sense
The spirit of this long-established company can be seen in the hand towel designs
Founded in 1615 as a fabric business, this company supplied Japan with many styles of tenugui (hand towels) from the Meiji to Showa periods. Notably, in the early part of the Showa period, the company formed the Hyakuiro-kai, a group with the aim of designing a hundred or more differently patterned towels, which lead to craftsmen competing to make the best designs; consequently, causing a buzz among towel lovers across Japan.
The 2nd floor of the head office has a gallery where some 60 types of original towels from those heady days are exhibited in frames. All of them show the technical prowess, artistic sense and superb humor of those yesteryear craftsmen.
Meanwhile, in the 1st floor store, more than 300 types of towels, including reprints of the old originals, are on sale.
| Address | 368 Ennogyoja-cho Muromachidori Sanjo-agaru, Nakagyo-ku |
|---|---|
| TEL | 075-256-0077 |
| FAX | 075-256-7885 |
| URL | https://hosotsuji-ihee-museum.com/ |
| Hours | 10:00~19:00 (entry by 18:30) |
| Closed | Open daily |
| Adm | Adults ¥1200 (includes tenugui) , Junior high school to college students ¥1100(includes tenugui), Elementary school students and younger ¥300 |
| Access | A 3-min walk from Exit 4-1 of the Subway Karasuma Line and Tozai Line Karasuma Oike Stn/A 3-min walk from Shinmachi-Oike Stop of City Bus |
Facilities near by
Shojiro Goto Gallery Commemorating His Temporary Residency at This Site
A well-assembled collection of exhibits showing the mark made on Edo life by Shojiro Goto, a key player in restoring imperial government
Chiso Gallery
A collection passed down through the ages as the inheritance of a long-established kyoyuzen dyeing company
Wacoal Museum of Beauty
In pursuit of the perfect body line
To-ji Temple Treasure Museum
Touching the esoteric arts passed down from Kukai