This building, located in front of Yamaguchi City Dojo Gate, was a detached Japanese-style house belonging to the prestigious Abe family. Because it was near the Sakagawa River, it was called “Chinryu-tei,” or “Pillow-Flowing House.”
During the Bakumatsu period, Choshu han and Satsuma han, which had opposed each other in events such as the Incident at the Forbidden Gate (also called the Battle of Hagomori-go-mon), were brought together in an alliance, mediated by Sakamoto Ryoma, in the 2nd year of Keio (1866). The purpose of this “Satcho” Alliance was “Tobaku,” the overthrowal of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Saigo Takamori, Okubo Toshimichi, and Komatsu Tatewaki were among the Satsuma samurai who visited Yamaguchi City in 1867 for the purpose of discussing the deployment of Satcho union troops. They held secret meetings in Chinryu-tei with Choshu samurai Kido Takayoshi, Hirosawa Sanneomi, Shinagawa Yajiro, and Ito Hirobumi, among others.
This building is thought to have been constructed towards the end of the Edo period. Since then, it was moved twice and was transferred to its present location in the 35th year of Showa (1960). As there are few buildings from the Meiji Restoration in all of Japan, Chinryu-tei is a valuable historical site.
As a note, Chinryu-tei was originally attached to a much larger building structure, but during the repeated moving process, it was scaled down to its current size.
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