Site of Japan’s most famous samurai murder is now a Kyoto karaoke joint

Belt one out for Ryoma.

A big part of what makes Kyoto feel like such a magical place is the proximity of its modern-day and historical aspects. You might step out of a subway station and find yourself just steps from a temple that’s been there for hundreds of years, or wander down a side street after grabbing a matcha latte at Starbucks and come across a traditional craftsman shop that’s been run by the same family for generations.

Or you could be singing karaoke with your friends when one of you suddenly realizes, “Hey, this is where one of the most famous and important samurai in Japanese history was murdered!”

We can thank karaoke chain Jankara for this, as they’ve just opened a new branch in in the Kawaramachi neighborhood in downtown Kyoto. Kawaramachi has long been a popular entertainment quarter in Kyoto, and before Jankara opened its new branch the space used to be occupied by a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. But if we keep going back in time, all the way to the mid-1800s and the closing years of the Tokugawa shogunate, we find that this used to be the location of the Omiya inn.

On the guest list on the night of December 10, 1867, was Sakamoto Ryoma (pictured above). Originally from present-day Kochi Prefecture Ryoma was among the most prominent politically progressive samurai of the era, a leader in the movement calling for an end to the isolationist and generally oppressive policies of the hereditary military dictatorship that had been controlling all of Japan for the roughly 300 years since the end of the Sengoku period. Needless to say, this made Ryoma less than popular among people who were cool with the idea of the shogunate remaining in power, and during the night of his stay at Omiya, he was murdered when a group of assassins burst into his room and attacked him.

So with Jankara’s new branch opening at the former site of Omiya, one of their private karaoke rooms recreates the incident, including replicas of the swords and wall scrolls that were in Ryoma’s room.

▼ Note Ryoma’s famously wavy hair in the silhouette.

If you’d prefer a less violent historical atmosphere, the Jankara Kawaramachi Omiya Branch also has a room with a replica of an irori, the hearth that traditionally sat at the center of Japanese homes and inns…

…and the staff dress in special old-school uniforms, some featuring Ryoma’s clan crest.

In addition to private rooms, the new Jankara also has an open counter section where strangers can sit and sing together. This is actually pretty rare for karaoke parlors in Japan, and is typically something you’d find instead in neighborhood bars with a small clientele of regular customers. Jankara says, though, that it hopes this open set-up will serve as a place for locals and travelers alike to melodiously mix and mingle.

And if you’re a karaoke newbie who’s looking for a good starter song to sing in Japanese, maybe one of these will do the trick.

Location information
Jankara (Kawaramachi Omiya Branch) / ジャンカラ（京都河原町近江屋店）
Address: Kyoto-fu, Kyoto-shi, Nakagyo-ku, Kawaramachi-dori, Takoyakushi-sagaru Shioya-cho 330
京都府京都市中京区河原町通蛸薬師下る塩屋町330
Open 24 hours
Website

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Wikipedia/E-190, PR Times
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