Abragen　Nishikawa Abura-ten

Highlight

A memory lane of oil related tools and retailing equipment used from Edo to Showa period

The precious tools that were once used to extract rape-seed oil

This oil shop museum is on the aptly named Aburakoji-dori (oil lane), which was a main route in Edo times, heavily used by people coming into Kyoto from Osaka, Fushimi and Kisshoin. It also is very close to where Kashitaro Ito was murdered by the Shinsengumi (shogunate police).
Founded in 1835, the shop pressed rape-seed oil for many generations, but now only retails oil, notably to the likes of nearby temples such as Nishihongan-ji Temple. The display room in this shop is home to a collection of oil pressing tools that were used in the shop back in the days when oil extracting was a strenuous and convoluted task. The pieces include equipment for compressing the rape seeds, vats that oil were sold from and shoulder poles for carrying the vats. The shop also has equipment from the joruri, or Japanese ballad drama, puppet play Onnagoroshi Abura no Jigoku (The Woman Killer and the Hell of Oil) by Monzaemon Chikamatsu.