・・・
黒石市前町にある老舗の呉服店「上原呉服店」は大正年間に呉服商を
始めましたが、それ以前は藩政時代から酒造りを生業としていたとの事です。
上原家発祥の地は上原呉服店に残る家系図を拝見すると現在の滋賀県高島市、
ここは琵琶湖に面した古い町並みの残る地でその中心には「大溝城址」がある。
家系図には「近江國大溝町・酒造業柳屋を興す」とあります。
大溝城は織田信長の甥・信澄が築城したお城とされています。
上原家のご先祖はこの大溝の町で財をなし遠く黒石の地に酒造蔵を出店した。
近江商人はこの様にして北前船を利用して日本海側そして道南まで広範囲に
その商いを地方の支店を足場にして拡大して行ったものと推察されます。
当時黒石の津軽家の発祥となった初代津軽信英公が江戸詰の旗本であったので
江戸でこの上原家と何らかの関係があって黒石への出店を決意したと思われます。
上原家は黒石にあっては屋号を「柳屋」と称し本家からの枝分かれが多くあり、
黒石における本拠地は「こみせ通り」の横町十文字一体を拠点としていた様です。
この他にも前町周辺には幾多の近江商人が店を構えていたと思われます。
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Uehara Gofukuten, a long-established kimono shop in Maemachi,
 Kuroishi City, began trading in the Taisho era (1912-1926),
 but prior to that, it had been involved in sake brewing since the feudal era.
According to the family tree preserved at Uehara Gofukuten,
 the birthplace of the Uehara family is
 what is now Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture.
This area, facing Lake Biwa, retains its old townscape,
 and at its heart is the site of Omizo Castle.
The family tree states, "Established the sake brewery Yanagiya
 in Omizocho, Omi Province."
Omizo Castle is believed to have been built
 by Oda Nobunaga's nephew, Nobuzumi.
The Uehara family's ancestors made their fortune
 in Omizo and opened a sake brewery in Kuroishi.
It is believed that in Omi, they used
 the Kitamaebune shipping routes
 to expand their business widely,
 both along the Sea of West-Japan coast and
 in southern Hokkaido, using local branches as a base.
At the time, the first head of the Tsugaru clan of Kuroishi,
 Lord Nobufusa Tsugaru, was a hatamoto (samurai) based in Edo,
 and it is believed that he had some connection with the Uehara
 clan in Edo and decided to open a store in Kuroishi.
The Uehara clan's store name in Kuroishi was "Yanagiya,"
 and there were many branches of the main family.
Their base in Kuroishi appears to have been
 around the cross-road side street on Komise-dori Street.
In addition to this, it is believed that many other Omi merchants
 had stores around Maemachi.
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