History/Culture

The House of Mishima Lunar Calendar Publisher

Reopened on September 1, 2020 after renovations.
The earthquake reinforcement and roof repair construction on the aging The House of Mishima Lunar Calendar Publisher building have finished, and it has now reopened.

The Small Mishima Lunar Calendar Museum
The House of Mishima Lunar Calendar Publisher is a museum and the repaired house of the Kawai Family, who continuously published Mishima Lunar Calendars. Inside the museum you can find printing blocks and related materials on display.
You can also enjoy using replica printing blocks for a special activity.

The Kawai Family used advanced astronomy and mathematical knowledge to create calendars for 50 generations.
After the initial building was destroyed in the Ansei Great Earthquake (1854), with the backing of the Niramayama prefectural governor Egawa Tarozaemon the building was replaced using materials from the abandoned Juurigi (Susuno City, Shizuoka) checkpoint building. The back room has the highest elevation, giving it a formal feel. In 2006 the museum became registered as a tangible cultural property.

Mishima Lunar Calendar = a calendar written in Japanese Kana letters, the oldest in Japan.
It is said that Mishima Lunar Calendars are the oldest calendars written in Japanese Kana letters in Japan.
The beauty of the letters and the fine silk became known throughout the land.