付知の老舗割烹旅館上見屋は、明治8（1875）年に旅籠として創業しました。旅籠とは、街道筋で旅人を泊まらせた食事付きの宿のことです。付知川左岸の川東と呼ばれるエリアに「上見」を屋号とする家があり、初代はそこの出身だそう。旧飛騨街道沿いで木造3階建ての旅籠を始め、当初は上見楼と呼ばれていました。
創業当時は、製糸工場で働く女工さんや親方衆の定宿としても使われていたと言います。長野県の岡谷から飛騨高山へ向かう道中の、ちょうど最後の宿場が付知でした。また御嶽山に向かう登山客の宿や、富山の薬売りなどの商人宿としても使われました。
大正期から昭和初期にかけては、向かい側の敷地で精肉店も営んでいたとか。旧街道に面した部屋を、寿司屋やカフェ、飲み屋にしていた時期もありました。また昭和46（1971）年には、南隣の敷地に結婚式場として別館を建てています。かつては多くの旅人が泊まった上見屋も、本館は少人数の寄り合いに、別館は大人数の冠婚葬祭にと、次第に地域の方々が集まる場所へと変わってきました。
そんな長い歴史をもつ上見屋が、2022（令和4）年のリニューアルによって、また新たな姿へと変わろうとしています。これまでは割烹旅館上見屋という名前でしたが、これからは日本料理上見屋に。一日一組限定、完全予約制という形で宿泊機能を残しつつも、日本料理店としての営業がメインになります。山菜やきのこ、鮎、鰻、猪、雉など、付知ならではの田舎懐石を提供します。
上見屋の建物は、街道沿いから奥へと、徐々に増築をしていったという歴史があります。一番手前の部分が明治8（1875）年に、真ん中が大正時代までに、そして一番奥の座敷が昭和8（1933）年に建てられました。昭和8年には、手前部分の3階建から2階建への減築も行われています。
今回のリニューアルでは、居住スペースや調理場等のバックヤードとして使われてきた真ん中部分を、全面的に建て替えました。客室として使われてきた趣ある奥座敷はそのまま残し、田舎懐石を楽しむ部屋となります。一方で街道沿いの一部はリノベーションを行い、カフェを併設する付知地域デザインミュージアムとして生まれ変わりました。
6代目の早川篤志さんは、幼い頃から自然と上見屋を継ぐという意識があったそうです。お話を伺うなかで、地域の方々への感謝を何度も口にする姿が印象的でした。
「本当に地域の人のおかげで、継続してこられたっていうことだと思います。もう一言で言うと、地域の人との繋がりで、生きてこられた。」
「明治から続いているってなると、継続記録を維持しないといけないっていうようなイメージがある。でも本当は中身が大事なので、そこにはあまりこだわらないようにするようにしました。ただ単純に続いているだけじゃ意味がないと思うので。途切れさせたらもったいないというような、そういうプレッシャーはありましたけど、今回こうやって壊したのも思い切りというか。これも継続の一環ではあるんですけど、形だけ残っても、中身が大事なんじゃないかと思います。」
「継ぐとかって色々考えたときに、おもてなしの心みたいなものを継続させるっていうことが一番大事なことなんじゃないかなっていうふうに思って。それはちょっと、なかなか言葉で言い表しにくいんですけど、もう精神性というか、おもてなしの。それがあればどんなに業態が変わったりしても、それを継続することが大事なんじゃないかな。」
地域やお客様を大事に想うからこそ、時代に合わせて業態や建物の形を変えても、連綿と受け継がれる大事なものは変わらない。先代から続くおもてなしの時間を、新しくなった上見屋でご堪能ください。
Japanese Cuisine Agemiya
Agemiya, a long-established kappo-ryokan in Tsukechi, was founded as a “Hatago” in 1875 (Meiji 8). “Hatago” is an inn with meals that accommodated travelers along a highway. In the area called Kawahigashi on the left bank of the Tsukechi River, there is a house with the trade name “Agemi”, and the first generation is said to have come from there. They started a three-story wooden Hatago along the old Hida highway, and it was initially called “Agemi-rou.
At the time of its establishment, it was also used as a regular inn for female workers and masters at silk mills. Tsukechi was the last post town on the road from Okaya in Nagano Prefecture to Hida Takayama. It was also used as an inn for climbers on their way to Mt. Ontake and as a merchant’s inn for medicine sellers in Toyama.
From the Taisho period to the early Showa period, Agemiya also operated a butcher on the site across the street. For a period of time, the rooms facing the old highway were used as sushi restaurants, cafes, and bars. In 1971, an annex was built as a wedding hall on the site next to the south. Agemiya was once an inn where many travelers stayed, but gradually became a place for local residents to gather, with the main building used for small gatherings and the annex for larger weddings and funerals.
With such a long history, Agemiya is about to undergo a renewal in 2022, and will take on a new look. The restaurant has been called Kappo-ryokan Agemiya, but it will now be called Japanese Cuisine Agemiya. While retaining the lodging function in the form of a complete reservation system, it will now operate primarily as a Japanese restaurant although it will be limited to one group per day. The restaurant will offer country-style kaiseki cuisine unique to Tsukechi, such as wild vegetables, mushrooms, sweetfish, eel, wild boar, and pheasant.
The Agemiya building has been gradually expanded from the street side to the back. The frontmost part was built in 1875, the middle part by the Taisho period (1912-1926), and the back part in 1933 (Showa 8). In 1933, the front portion was reduced from a three-story building to a two-story building.
In this renewal, the middle part, which had been used as a backyard for living space and cooking area, was completely rebuilt. The atmospheric back room, which has been used as a guest room, will remain as it is and be used as a room to enjoy country-style kaiseki cuisine. On the other hand, part of the area along the street was renovated as the Tsukechi Territorial Design Museum with a café.
Atsushi Hayakawa, the sixth generation of Agemiya, had a natural desire to take over the Agemiya business since he was a child. During our conversation, we were impressed by the way he repeatedly expressed his gratitude to the people of the local community.
He said, ” I think I was able to continue because of the people in the community. In the other words, it is the connections with the local people that have kept us alive.”
“Because Agemiya has been in business since the Meiji era, there is an image that I have to maintain a continuous record. But the business’s content is essential, so I’m not too concerned about keeping the store going. I don’t think there’s any point in just being there. There was that kind of pressure that it would be a waste if it was interrupted, but I think it is sometimes necessary to break it down like this. This is also part of the continuity, but I think it is meaningless if only the form remains, rather it is what is inside that is important.”
“When I think about the succession of the business, I think that the most important thing is to continue the spirit of hospitality. It’s hard to put into words, but I think it’s the spirit of hospitality. If we have that, no matter how much the type of business changes, I think it is important to keep it going.”
Because they care about the community and their customers, even though they change their business model and the shape of the building to suit the times, the important things that have been passed down from generation to generation remain unchanged. Please enjoy the hospitality that has continued from the previous generation at the newly renovated Agemiya.
