🛍️ Kōgensha

The founder of Kōgensha, Shiro Ikawa, was a junior of Kenji Miyazawa at the Miyazawa Kenji Agricultural and Forestry School. Shiro Ikawa was deeply moved by the manuscripts of Kenji Miyazawa, which led to the publication of the fairy tale collection "Chūmon no Ōi Ryōriten" (The Restaurant of Many Orders). When Miyazawa passed away in 1933 at the age of just 37, this became the only fairy tale collection published during his lifetime. It is said that the sales at the time of publication were not very promising. Later, Kōgensha began manufacturing and selling ironware and lacquerware. Promoting the Mingei movement, figures such as Yanagi Sōetsu, the dyer Serizawa Keisuke, and the printmaker Munakata Shikō gathered, transforming it into a social hub. Kōgensha gradually evolved from a publishing house into a brand store handling folk crafts from all over the country. Today, the "Kōgensha Main Store" offers exclusive lacquerware and ceramics, glassware from various regions of Japan, as well as hand-spun textiles from Iwate Prefecture. Several buildings stand adjacent to each other on the premises, including the "Madiel Hall," which displays the first edition of Miyazawa Kenji's "Chūmon no Ōi Ryōriten," various fairy tale collections, poetry books, and related materials about the author; the Mingei general store "Campanella," which sells imported goods; and the café "Kaho-kan." Across from the main store is the "Morio," a product hall showcasing ironware and handwoven baskets.

In the courtyard of this store, there is a monument indicating the place of publication, as well as a stone pillar inscribed with part of the fairy tale "The Big Dipper of the Crow." In addition to the main store, there are also the Kitano Hikariwara Company (Morioka Uchimaru) and the Hikariwara Company Sendai store, as well as the Sendado store (Sendai). It is located near JR "Morioka" Station, about a 10-minute walk away.