《96》Early Modern Hakata and the Twin Cities (Part 7)... Reconciliation of Fukuoka and Hakata
- However, under Kuroda's rule, the conflict between Fukuoka and Hakata gradually came to an end, and the two cities eventually reconciled (united). Many of the old powerful merchants fell from being the best merchants in the country to being merchants in a castle town, while the new merchants became the official merchants of the Kuroda clan and supported the clan's development.
- A typical example of the harmony and cooperation between the twin cities of Fukuoka and Hakata can be seen in the development of "Hakata-ori," which was called "the best product in the country" by the Fukuoka clan. Originally, Hakata-ori was a traditional silk fabric produced in Hakata, which flourished as an overseas trading port, and the technique of Kara-ori and raw silk were imported from the continent in the Kamakura period (1185-1333), mainly to meet the needs of shrines, temples, and samurai.
- In the Kuroda domain, Hakata-ori fabrics and obi belts were presented to the shogunate by the first feudal lord Nagamasa Kuroda, and the fabrics became the product of the famous twin cities. Raw silk selected by the Kuroda clan's dedicator was dyed at a dyer in Kyoto, and the Takewaka family in Hakata used it exclusively for weaving. It can be said to be a splendid collaboration between Fukuoka (Kuroda clan) and Hakata.
*The photo shows a five-colored Hakata-ori fabric called "Goshiki-Kenjo". /
近世博多と双子都市（その７）…福岡と博多の融和
- しかし黒田藩政下で、福岡と博多の対立は次第に収束し、やがては融和（一体化）してゆきます。旧豪商の多くはかつての天下の町人から一城下町の町人へと没落する一方、新興の商人たちは黒田藩の御用商人となって藩を支え発展してゆくことになります。
- 福岡と博多の双子都市の融和と協業の典型例は、福岡藩において「御国第一の名産」と称された「献上博多織」の開発に見ることができます。もともと博多織は、海外貿易港として栄えた博多で、鎌倉時代に大陸から唐織の技術と原料の生糸が輸入され、社寺や武士の需要を中心に生産された伝統的な絹織物でした。
- 黒田藩では、初代藩主黒田長政によって博多織の反物と帯が幕府に献上されるようになり、一躍有名な双子都市の物産となりました。黒田藩の献上掛が精選した生糸を京都の染屋で染色し、それを使って博多の竹若家が独占して製織しました。見事な福岡（黒田藩）と博多のコラボレーションと言えます。