Tamashima is the central urban area of the former Tamashima City.
In 1967, the former cities of Kurashiki, Kojima, and Tamashima merged to establish the present-day Kurashiki City. Since then, the area has been part of Kurashiki City as Tamashima.
The former Tamashima City area lies in western Kurashiki City, and the Tamashima urban area is located about 2.3 km southwest of Shin-Kurashiki Station.
The Tamashima urban area originated as a port town that flourished around Tamashima Port (also known as Tamashima Minato), built in the early Edo period. Tamashima Port Town prospered as one of the leading commercial cities in the Seto Inland Sea region, to the extent that it was called “Naniwa of the West.”
Many old buildings still remain in the Tamashima urban area today, and walking through its streets gives a sense of its former prosperity as a port town.
Here, we explore the history, appeal, and culture of the streetscape of Tamashima, the Naniwa of the West.
The information presented here was current when this article was published in June 2025. Please note that it may differ from current information.
History of Tamashima
Let’s take a closer look at the history behind the emergence of Tamashima’s streetscape.
Land reclamation and port development under the lord of Bitchu-Matsuyama Domain
The plains in what is now the former Tamashima City area were almost entirely sea.
Land was gradually reclaimed from the early Edo period onward, creating the broad plains we see today.
The person who advanced the land reclamation was Mizunoya Katsutaka, who became lord of Bitchu-Matsuyama Domain (around present-day Takahashi City) in 1642.
The hill where Haguro Shrine now stands, Mt. Haguro, was once a small island called “Amidajima.” To its south, areas such as Otojima and Tamashima 1-chome to 3-chome formed an island called “Otojima,” while areas to the west, including Agasaki and Kashiwajima, formed an island called “Kashiwajima.”
The Mizunoya clan then built embankments for land reclamation, extending from Amidajima toward Otojima and from Amidajima toward Kashiwajima.
The embankment between Amidajima and Kashiwajima was particularly large, measuring about 50 meters wide and 400 meters long.
This land reclamation created Tamashima Shinden and Agasaki Shinden.
The southern ends of Tamashima Shinden and Agasaki Shinden, together with Amidajima, Otojima, and Kashiwajima, formed an inlet-like landscape, making it an ideal location for a port.
As a result, the inlet developed into a port.
This was Tamashima Port.
Since Bitchu-Matsuyama was inland, Tamashima Port served as the outer port of Bitchu-Matsuyama Domain.
To provide an efficient connection between Bitchu-Matsuyama and Tamashima Port, the approximately 9-kilometer-long Takase-doshi Canal was built to link the Takahashi River (in present-day Funao, Kurashiki City) with Tamashima Port.
A water transport route was established, with Takase-bune boats traveling between Bitchu-Matsuyama, the Takahashi River, Takase-doshi Canal, and Tamashima Port.
Formation of the port town
Tamashima Port developed as the outer port of Bitchu-Matsuyama Domain, thanks to water transport along the Takahashi River and Takase-doshi Canal.
As the port developed, merchants and others gathered around it, giving rise to a port town. A merchant district formed on the embankment connecting Amidajima and Otojima (Agasaki) from east to west.
This merchant district was called “Shinmachi” (Tamashima Shinmachi, Agasaki Shinmachi), and the road running east to west through the town on the embankment was called “Shinmachi-dori.” Merchants are said to have gathered around Shinmachi from across Bitchu Province, including Bitchu-Matsuyama, Soja (Soja City), and Kawabe (Mabi, Kurashiki City).
Kitamaebune ships began calling at Tamashima Port, and trade with them flourished.
Kitamaebune ships moored alongside the Shinmachi embankment, allowing cargo to be loaded and unloaded. Shinmachi eventually became the center of Tamashima Port Town.
Prosperity as a port of call for Kitamaebune ships and a commercial city
Tamashima’s port town was at its most prosperous around the Genroku era (1680–1709).
At its peak, Shinmachi had as many as 43 wholesalers, and it is said that more than 200 storehouses lined its streets.
Tamashima Port was a collection point for Bitchu cotton, grown throughout the southern part of Bitchu in the surrounding area, and cotton products made from it.
Trade was said to be greatest in Bitchu cotton and cotton products, as well as herring meal and dried sardines brought by Kitamaebune ships.
Herring meal and dried sardines were used as fertilizer for cotton cultivation.
The main goods sold from Tamashima were Bitchu cotton and cotton products.
In this way, Tamashima’s port town prospered as a distribution hub for goods, becoming one of the leading commercial cities in the Seto Inland Sea region, known as “Naniwa of the West,” and flourishing as an economic center.
During the Genroku era, the lordship of Tamashima Port Town changed, and the area came under divided rule by three authorities: Bitchu-Matsuyama Domain, Kameyama Domain in Tanba Province (based in present-day Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture), and the direct control of the Edo shogunate.
The commercial center moves to the suburbs, leaving a streetscape of old buildings
Even after the Meiji period, Tamashima thrived as one of Okayama Prefecture’s leading economic centers.
It also became a regional hub, with financial institutions and major branch offices of government agencies located there.
Later, from the mid-1970s, society became increasingly centered on automobiles, and commercial activity gradually shifted to the suburbs.
However, many old buildings remain in the Tamashima urban area, preserving a streetscape that evokes the prosperity of its port-town days. In 1995, Tamashima’s streetscape was designated an Okayama Prefecture Streetscape Preservation District.
In 2017, Tamashima’s streetscape became one of the cultural properties comprising the Japan Heritage site “A Kurashiki story beginning with a single cotton flower.”
In 2018, it became one of the cultural properties comprising the Japan Heritage site “A different world entwined with the dreams of men who overcame the stormy seas.”
Kurashiki City currently provides financial assistance and technical support for new construction and extensions to buildings, helping preserve Tamashima’s historic landscape for future generations.
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