What the Horibe Family Residence Workshop Is
The Horibe Family Residence Workshop (堀部家住宅作業場, Horibe-ke Jūtaku Sagyōba) is a single-story wooden outbuilding built around 1893 on the grounds of a former samurai household in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 27, 2006. It stands at 272 Minami-koken, Inuyama, at the back of the plot, attached to the east side of the storehouse and farthest from the street.
The Horibe family had served the Naruse lords of Inuyama Castle. When the domain was abolished, Horibe Katsushirō bought this land in the early Meiji years and made a living raising silkworms. The main house of 1883 kept its second floor for the cocoons; the workshop, built about ten years later, gave the business a building of its own. Of the six structures registered in 2006, this is the one that speaks most directly about how the family earned its income.
The workshop has a floor area of 69 square meters under a gabled roof of Sangawara-buki tiles. It is not one room but three joined in a row, each with a different job.
Why the Horibe Family Residence Workshop Was Registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the Horibe Family Residence Workshop for its contribution to the historic landscape of the nation, and its entry in the national database describes the building as a surviving trace of the family's livelihood. Former samurai who took up farming or small industry after 1871 were common across Japan, but the buildings they worked in rarely survive, because sheds and silkworm rooms were the first things to be pulled down when a family changed trades.
The plan records that history. The section nearest the storehouse is a storeroom measuring three and a half Ken by two ken, roughly 6.4 meters by 3.6 meters. A farm work shed of three by two ken continues eastward under a ridge that steps down, the arrangement carpenters call ochimune, so that the two roofs read as separate volumes rather than one long shed. Beside these sits the silkworm room, also three by two ken. Sericulture demanded a space that could be kept warm and ventilated, and giving it a dedicated room shows that silk was more than a sideline here.
The walls are finished in Shinkabe style, with the timber posts left exposed and the panels between them plastered white. The lower portion is protected by horizontal siding boards. Together the three sections form a working range that reads clearly against the residential buildings to the north: humbler in finish, but built with the same care.
What to Look For at the Horibe Family Residence Workshop
Walk south past the storehouse and the character of the compound changes. The main house and the detached parlor face the garden with verandas and glass; the Horibe Family Residence Workshop turns its plain plastered face to the yard. Stand at the west end and look along the ridge line, and you can pick out the drop where the storeroom ends and the farm shed begins.
Look at the wall surface. The exposed posts divide the white plaster into regular bays, and the dark siding boards along the base show where rain splash was expected. This is a utilitarian building, yet its bays are evenly spaced and its finish is as tidy as that of the house.
The storehouse next door has been fitted with heating and cooling and is used for events; the city's guide to the interiors does not include the workshop, so plan to view it from the yard. If you have already seen the second-floor rooms of the main house, where cocoons were once spread out, the Horibe Family Residence Workshop completes the picture of a household that made silk its business.
Visiting the Horibe Family Residence Workshop
The Horibe Family Residence Workshop is part of the Former Horibe Residence, a free public facility owned by the city of Inuyama. The city received the buildings by donation and opened them in fiscal 2012. Since fiscal 2015 a nonprofit, the Kodai Niwa no Sato Cultural Heritage Network, has managed the site as the Kinoshita Castle Heritage Hall and Horibe Residence, hosting exhibitions and traditional-culture events.
Hours are noon to 6:00 p.m. The residence is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (the following day if a public holiday falls on one of them) and from December 28 through January 4. Admission is free. Visits in the morning require a reservation by telephone (0568-90-3744). The garden and buildings can be viewed freely during opening hours, and the workshop can be seen at close range from the yard even when its doors are shut. No published rule covers photography, so check with staff for interiors.
Access is on foot from Inuyama Station or Inuyama-guchi Station on the Meitetsu line, about 10 minutes either way. Meitetsu Nagoya Station is about 25 minutes away by train and Meitetsu Gifu Station about 30 minutes. The gate opens onto a narrow lane south of the castle town's main street. There is no visitor parking; the city recommends public transport or the castle parking lot.
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Q&A
- Can I see the Horibe Family Residence Workshop, and is there an admission fee?
- Yes. It is inside the Former Horibe Residence, which is open free of charge, noon to 6:00 p.m., closed Mondays, Tuesdays, and December 28 to January 4. The workshop is viewed from the yard.
- What was the Horibe Family Residence Workshop used for?
- It combined a storeroom, a farm work shed, and a silkworm-rearing room in one building. The Horibe family, former samurai retainers, raised silkworms for a living in the Meiji period.
- When was the Horibe Family Residence Workshop built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to around 1893. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 27, 2006.
- How big is the Horibe Family Residence Workshop?
- The building area is 69 square meters. It consists of a storeroom of 3.5 by 2 ken and two further sections of 3 by 2 ken each, roughly 5.5 meters by 3.6 meters apiece.
- How do I reach the Horibe Family Residence Workshop from Nagoya?
- Board a Meitetsu train at Meitetsu Nagoya Station and ride about 25 minutes to Inuyama Station, then walk about 10 minutes. There is no parking at the residence.
Basic Information
| Name | Horibe Family Residence Workshop (堀部家住宅作業場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 272 Minami-koken, Inuyama, Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered March 27, 2006 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden single-story, tiled roof, building area 69 square meters |
| Owner | Inuyama City |
| Public Access | Grounds open free of charge, noon to 6:00 p.m.; closed Mondays, Tuesdays, and December 28 to January 4 |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Horibe Family Residence Workshop
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005471
- Inuyama City: Facility Guide, Former Horibe Residence
- https://www.city.inuyama.aichi.jp/shisetsu/koukyoshisetsu/1001550/1006914.html
- Inuyama City: About the Former Horibe Residence
- https://www.city.inuyama.aichi.jp/kurashi/bunka/1001052/1003549/1001062.html
- Kinoshita Castle Heritage Hall and Horibe Residence (operator's official site)
- https://horibetei.com/sample-page/
- Aichi Now (Aichi Prefecture official tourism site): Former Horibe Residence
- https://aichinow.pref.aichi.jp/spots/detail/3890/
Last verified: 2026.09.02