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The collection of a wealthy Edo merchant

The Kawabara family was originally from Kyushu, with the family forefather being a samurai of rank who moved to Kyoto in 1645, and set up a shop on the present site, dealing in cotton cloth, lacquer ware and paper as a Kyoto businessman with a store in Edo. This business did so well that the family became wealthy Kyoto merchants.
The museum collection consists of Edo heirlooms passed down through each generation of the Kawabara family. Of these, some 8,000 are family-orientated pieces such as wedding robes and furnishings; while a further 10,000 pieces are manuscripts such as business records, old documents and old books. Added to these, there are panel paintings depicting scenes from the Tale of Genji as well as other arts and crafts such as paintings (scrolls, folding screens and ukiyoe), Zen monk penmanship, ceramics, tea utensils, swords and clothing. Pieces from this vast collection are selected each spring and autumn for themed exhibitions that are open to the public along with the magnificent house itself, which was built in 1763 and retains much of the ambience of a wealthy Edo merchant.