- Established: 1861
- Japanese: 柊家 (hiiragiya)
The Hiiragiya is an upscale ryokan (inn) in Kyoto.
It was established in 1861 by a metalsmith known for his tsuba whose father had traveled to Kyoto from a town on the Sea of Japan coast, in order to establish a trading post there. The inn had its start as a place for porters associated with that trading post, and others looking for work, and was named after Hiiragi Shrine (located within Shimogamo Shrine.
In 1853, friends encouraged the metalsmith to more formally establish the Hiiragi-ya as an inn catering to daimyô and other samurai traveling to the city. During the turbulent Bakumatsu period, the inn saw its share of shogunal agents or the Imperial loyalist rebels they opposed; in the 20th century, such prominent figures as Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio, and Charlie Chaplin are known to have stayed there.
References
- Durston, Diane. Old Kyoto. Kodansha International, 2005. pp63-64.