Kawagoe Time Bell Tower and Kurazukuri Townscape Coloring Pages

The symbol of Ko-Edo Kawagoe

In Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, there is a townscape lined with Kurazukuri shops that have black walls.
Standing in that townscape is a three-story wooden tower called the Time Bell Tower.
Kawagoe grew busy in the past because it was linked to Edo by river boats. People call it "Ko-Edo" (Little Edo) because it still feels like old Edo today!

A bell that has told the time for almost 400 years

People say the Time Bell Tower was first built between 1627 and 1634, during the early Edo period, by Tadakatsu Sakai, the lord of Kawagoe.
The current tower was rebuilt the year after a big fire in 1893. It is about 16 meters tall!
Even today, the bell rings 4 times a day: at 6:00 in the morning, 12:00 noon, 3:00 in the afternoon, and 6:00 in the evening.
A machine automatically rings the bell now instead of a person doing it by hand.

A Kurazukuri town born from a big fire

In 1893, a big fire burned down most of the town in Kawagoe.
At that time, the Kurazukuri fireproof storehouses stayed safe from the flames.
When merchants saw this, they all raced to build their own Kurazukuri shops. That is how today's black storehouse townscape was made!
This townscape was chosen as a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 1999.

Black walls and big Onigawara roof tiles

The walls of Kawagoe's Kurazukuri buildings are painted with black plaster. It takes more work and money to make than white walls, so it was a fancy way to build!
On top of the roof sits a thick, wall-like ridge called a Hakomune. At both ends of it, big, heavy Onigawara ogre tiles are placed.
If you compare it to the storehouses with white walls in Kurashiki, you can see that even though they are both storehouses, the colors are completely different!

The second-floor windows have thick double doors

If you look closely at the second floor of a Kurazukuri shop, you can see thick double doors on the windows that open from the middle.
When a fire breaks out, people close these doors to keep the flames from getting inside.
The first floor is the front of the shop where goods are displayed, and shop curtains hang from the entrance.
The second coloring page shows a Kurazukuri shop with big Onigawara tiles and double doors. The third coloring page shows Kawagoe Time Bell Tower and Kurazukuri Townscape together!

Use Black for the Storehouse Walls

The walls of the storehouses in Kawagoe are black.
Instead of coloring them solid black, color them dark gray first! Then, add black over the parts in the shadow. This will give the black walls a nice shine.
If you add red, blue, or white to the store curtains and sign frames, the black storehouse town will look nice and bright.

Use Gray for the Roof Tiles and Ooni-gawara

Let’s try using gray for the roof tiles and the ooni-gawara ogre tiles.
If you trace the swirl patterns on the ogre tiles with a slightly darker gray, they will look 3D!

The Time Bell Tower is Made of Dark Brown Wood

The wooden frame of the Time Bell Tower is made of dark brown wood.
Try using gray for the three roofs, and a greenish bronze color for the bell at the very top.
If you move your colored pencil along the lines of the wooden boards, it will look just like a real wooden tower!

Color the Sky Blue to Make the Tower Stand Out

In your picture of the Time Bell Tower, if you color the sky a bright blue, the dark brown tower will really stand out.
If you leave the clouds white, it will look like a sunny day in the town of Kawagoe!

Color Each Layer of the Double Doors Differently

The thick doors on the second-floor windows have many layers around the edges.
If you color the outer layers dark gray and the inner layers a slightly lighter gray, the doors will look nice and thick.
Store curtains look great with black storehouses if you make them dark navy blue or brown!

Use the Road and Sky to Make the Town Look Bright

If you make the road light gray and the sky bright blue, the black storehouse townscape will look neat and clear!

The Sound of the Bell Chosen as One of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan

In 1996, the sound of the Time Bell was chosen as one of the country's "100 Soundscapes of Japan to Be Preserved."
The sound that has told time to the people in town for nearly 400 years is still protected with great care today.

"Thirteen Ri: Tasting Even Better Than Chestnuts"

Kawagoe is also a town famous for sweet potatoes.
In the Edo period, when baked sweet potatoes became super popular in Edo, lots of delicious Kawagoe sweet potatoes were brought over by boat.
Baked sweet potato shops put up signs that said, "Thirteen Ri: Tasting Even Better Than Chestnuts." It was a clever wordplay! In Japanese, "chestnut" sounds like "nine ri," "better than" sounds like "plus four ri," and nine plus four equals thirteen ri!

Kashiya Yokocho with Rows of Penny Candy Shops

Near the Kurazukuri Townscape, there is a street called Kashiya Yokocho.
Old-fashioned penny candy shops stand on both sides of the cobblestone path.
In 2001, it was also chosen as one of the "100 Fragrant Landscapes." It is a town filled with the sweet smell of treats!

Black Storehouses Were a Sign of Wealth

Black plaster took more work to make than white plaster, and it was more expensive too.
Building a black storehouse was a way for merchants to show off the power and success of their shops.