Raw silk merchants in Yarimizu, where the Silk Road runs through, made their fortunes through the trade of raw silk. One of these merchants, Yagishita Yoemon, built a residence with magnificent stone walls, and was called the Ishigaki Daijin (“stone wall magnate”).
The reception room on the grounds, known as the Ijinkan (“Western style residence”), was a place for entertaining international visitors to Hachioji. Today, the site of the residence is occupied by the Silk Road Museum, which displays materials related to the Silk Road, the raising of silkworms, and silk production.