History of The Railway Town Omiya
History of The Railway Town Omiya
How did Omiya become a railway town?～Exploring the history～
Why was there not a station in Omiya when the railway was first opened?
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Illustration of the Prospering of the Tokyo-Ueno to Kumagaya Steam Car Round Trip
*Courtesy of Saitama City Museum -
The line between Ueno and Kumagaya opened for business in 1883. When the line first opened, the stations were Ueno, Oji, Urawa, Ageo, Konosu, and Kumagaya. Omiya Station was not on the line.
This was primarily due to the population trend in Omiya following the Meiji Restoration.
In 1867, the population was around 3,000, but in 1869, it dropped to 1,752, partly due to the prefectural capital being moved to Urawa.
Ten years later, in 1879, the population had fallen all the way to 952. The establishment of a station in Omiya was initially postponed because it was considered unprofitable due to the population declining year after year.
Why was the decision made to build a station in Omiya?
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In 1884, the line north of Kumagaya to Takasaki was opened, and the Ueno - Takasaki line began service.
After the line to Takasaki was opened, the selection of branching points for the construction of the Tohoku Main Line began. The choices were narrowed down to branching at Kumagaya or branching near Omiya. Two proposals were considered: one involving a route from Omiya through Kurihashi and Oyama to Utsunomiya, and the other from Kumagaya through Ashikaga and Tochigi to Utsunomiya. After a detailed study of the construction cost, construction period, operating expenses, and revenue potential, the plan for branching near Omiya was adopted, and construction began. This decision was due in part to the active efforts of Sukeshichi Shirai and others to bring a station to Omiya.On March 16, 1885, the campaign by Sukeshichi Shirai and others to attract the new station bore fruit when Omiya Station finally opened. Trains that had previously only passed through now stopped at Omiya, and the development of the town of Omiya began.
How did the town of Omiya develop after Omiya Station opened?
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Establishment of Omiya Factory
With the extension of the railway, the trains were operated over longer distances and at a higher frequency. This created an urgent need for a rolling stock factory for maintenance and service.
Amid these circumstances, the campaign by Sukeshichi Shirai and others to bring a rolling stock factory to Omiya Station was also successful. In 1888, the Nippon Railway applied to the Minister of Communications for the expansion of Omiya Station and the construction of a factory.Approval was received, and construction began in 1894. Operations were launched within the same year. Sukeshichi Shirai was successful in bringing both a station and a factory to Omiya.
Initially, more than 230 workers were transferred to the factory from Ueno. However, with the expansion of the factory, it evolved into a large facility employing around 5,000 workers at its peak. The town became vibrant and bustling thanks to the growing workforce.
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Addressing the increase in the number of trains running and traffic due to the conversion to a double-track line
After the opening of Omiya Station, the traffic volume increased as construction of the railway progressed toward Aomori.
As the number of trains operating increased in conjunction with the increase in traffic, it became clear that the single-track line would soon be a hindrance to operations.
For that reason, the company began construction of a double-track line between Ueno and Omiya in 1892. After the completion of the double-tracking of the Arakawa Bridge in March 1895, the line began commercial operation with double tracks. The volume of traffic continued to increase thereafter, and Omiya established itself as a key hub of the main line.
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Development through new industries based on the railway
The opening of Omiya Station and the Omiya Factory and the increase in transportation capacity due to the double track system brought greater convenience of railway access to the port of Yokohama for exporting products that was highly praised, and in 1901, a silk mill was relocated from Nagano. From then until 1911, silk mills were established and commenced operations one after another.
For similar reasons, tea production flourished in the vicinity of the station, so Omiya prospered as a silk and tea-making town.
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Rapid urbanization alongside railway and industrial development
Omiya’s development as a silk and tea-making town prompted a rapid population increase in the area surrounding Omiya Station.
In the 1930s, residential areas developed in the Tokyo suburbs. By 1932, the Keihin-Tohoku Line had begun operations, doubling the number of passengers using Omiya Station.
Urbanization of the area progressed rapidly.
Later, the city grew steadily through a period of rapid economic growth following World War II. The number of trains in operation increased at the same time.
In 1982, the Tohoku Shinkansen began service, establishing Omiya’s position as the northern gateway to the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Omiya is a railway town
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As you can see, Omiya was not a big town in the beginning. However, with the opening and establishment of Omiya Station and Omiya Factory through the efforts of Sukeshichi Shirai and others, local industries sprung up as the railway developed. Urbanization of the surrounding area progressed steadily, bringing a dramatic increase in the town’s population.
This is evidence that the opening of Omiya Station was paramount to the development of the town of Omiya. Paradoxically, Omiya is nothing if not a railway town.
Reference: 100-year History of Omiya Station from Kosai Publishing Company by Shoji Sorimachi
From the history of the railway,
it can be said that Omiya is a railway town.
The History of Omiya alongside Hikawa Shrine～Tanenari Endo, Senior Priest of Hikawa Shrine～
What is the history of Hikawa Shrine?
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Houses and earthenware from the Jomon and Yayoi periods have been excavated on the plateau where the shrine is located, indicating that people have lived in this area for about 3,000 to 4,000 years. People must have gathered here for the fresh water springing out of the plateau.
The shrine is very old and will celebrate its 2,500th anniversary in 2028. The three deities are Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Inadahime-no-Mikoto, and Oonamuchi-no-Mikoto. Susanoo-no-Mikoto is the god of flood control.It is the head shrine of over 280 Hikawa Shrines nationwide, designated as Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine during the reign of Emperor Shomu, and has been revered by the imperial court. After the samurai period, the Kamakura, Ashikaga, Hojo, and Tokugawa clans successively rebuilt or constructed shrines.
The name “Omiya” is said to come from Hikawa Shrine being called “Oinaru Miyai” (“Grand Shrine”). Omiya developed as the town of Hikawa Shrine.
Did the area around the shrine change during the Meiji period?
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After the opening of the country, Emperor Meiji visited Hikawa Shrine in a carriage just two weeks after his accession to the throne. The Hikawa Shrine area is sacred ground, so His Majesty reportedly prepared himself in Urawa before entering Omiya. It is said that he read a prayer and prayed for the future of the modern nation.
After the opening of Omiya Station in 1885, the town must have become a more bustling place as the gateway to the north. A bird’s-eye view of the area drawn by Hatsusaburo Yoshida in 1934 depicts the railway and the Omiya Factory. It shows a utopian townscape that includes Omiya Park lined with fine restaurants, a silk mill (now Katakura Industries), and a horse racetrack.
Incidentally, there is a record of Emperor Showa taking a field trip to Omiya Park next to the shrine when he was in elementary school. It says he enjoyed picking matsutake mushrooms on the trip.
Hatsusaburo Yoshida: Bird’s Eye View of Omiya, the Sole Utopia on the Outskirts of the Imperial Capital
Bird’s eye view of the Omiya area with Hikawa Park in the center (Hatsusaburo Yoshida)
This drawing took two months to complete, and the depiction centers on what Omiya Park, the Omiya Railway Factory, and Katakura Silk looked like at that time. A newspaper at the time stated that “20,000 copies were printed and distributed to the International Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Railways, the Japan Tourist Bureau, the Imperial Hotel, and other organizations, for extensive publicity.”
*A replica of the same bird’s eye drawing is displayed at Hikawa Shrine.
After the opening of Omiya Station,
interaction with the railway increased, too, didn’t it?
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Omiya was famous for its scenic beauty, and there is a story that before World War II, famous writers and celebrities from Tokyo would come in first-class cars of the Japanese National Railways to attend parties at a ryotei (fine restaurant) while watching fireflies. On the flip side, Oto Mori (Ogai Mori’s oldest son), who lived in Bonsai Village, used to visit Hikawa Shrine every morning before going to the University of Tokyo School of Medicine from Omiya Station.
When the Omiya Factory was building royal trains, more than 200 palace carpenters were involved. There was a Shinto shrine on the trains as well as a shelf to hold the Three Sacred Treasures, so they were truly “moving shrines.”
During the war, railway maintenance personnel were dispatched from the Omiya Factory to Siberia. The departure ceremony was held at the Hikawa Shrine, and because of this connection, a large photograph commemorating the triumphal return from Siberia is kept at the shrine to this day.
Does the Hikawa Maru, which is open to the public in Yamashita Park in Yokohama, also come from the Hikawa Shrine?
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Yes, it was named after the Hikawa Shrine.
The Hikawa Maru transported silk produced at the silk mill in Omiya to foreign countries.
When Omiya Station opened, many silk factories were established in Omiya, strategically located between the silk-producing region of North Kanto and the Yokohama Port, which exported raw silk. This led to the development of the silk industry here. In the early Showa period, silk spun by a machine invented by Naosaburo Minorikawa was well-received in Europe and the United States. The finest silk threads were transported by rail from Omiya to Yokohama, and from there to Seattle on the Hikawa Maru. Later, the transcontinental railways, including the Great Northern Railway, were built, and the silk was transported from Seattle to New York and Washington D.C.
What to see at Hikawa Shrine
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The Hikawa Sando Approach leading to Hikawa Shrine is said to be the longest approach in Japan. It is about two kilometers from Ichino-torii (first torii gate), located about a 10-minute walk from Saitama-Shintoshin Station, to San-no-torii (third torii gate). The nearest station to Ichino-torii is Saitama-Shintoshin Station, while the nearest station to San-no-torii near the shrine precinct is Omiya Station.
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The second torii gate of Hikawa Shrine is the largest cypress torii in Japan. It was originally cut from cypress trees in Alishan, Taiwan, transported by the Alishan Railway, and then shipped by boat from Taipei. It was dedicated to Meiji Shrine in 1920, but in 1975, it was transferred to Hikawa Shrine.
