Hishio

Katsuyama Bunka Oraikan Hishio is an experience-based exchange facility located in Katsuyama, Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture. It is a gallery hall with a cafe attached. It opened in June 2005. == History == === Building/Former Kiyotomo Soy Sauce Brewery === It was founded in 1890 as Kiyotomo Soy Sauce Brewery, then in 1968 as Kiyotomo Soy Sauce Store, and is built on the site of a soy sauce brewing and sales company that closed in 1972. After going out of business, parts of the building, including the soy sauce storehouse, were donated to Maniwa City and turned into an exhibition hall. The Kiyotomo House (formerly Kiyotomo Soy Sauce Store), which was not donated, is still in use as a residence as of 2018 and is not open to the public, but during the Katsuyama Hina Festival, you can tour the interior with a public exhibition of hina dolls. On the dirt floor, there are traces of trolley tracks that were built during the time when soy sauce was brewed. === History from donation to building renovation to the present === In response to the wishes of Katsuyama area residents who wanted to create a base for cultural activities, the mayor of the town at the time frequently visited the Kiyotomo soy sauce brewery in order to request that the local soy sauce brewery located in the center of the town be donated. The town of Katsuyama at the time took over some of the land and buildings, including the soy sauce storehouse, on the condition that it would be used for something truly cultural. The Katsuyama Townscape Committee, which is made up of administrative and resident community development organizations, considered how to use the site, and aimed to create a public-built and privately-operated cultural facility that would promote interaction between the region and the city, tourists and artists, and serve as a place to improve the culture of the local community, as well as increase citizen participation.