A Tokyo rental house rebuilt on a hillside in Aichi
Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan is a wooden dwelling of the early Meiji period standing in the Museum Meiji-Mura in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, and it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003. The house originally stood in Mukojima, in what is now the Higashi-Mukojima district of Sumida Ward, Tokyo.
It was built by the Amemiya family, who ran a sake shop called Koshuya, and tradition holds that it was put up as a retirement house for the family. No document fixes the year of construction. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to about 1868, at the very start of the Meiji era.
The tenant who gave the house its name was the novelist Koda Rohan (幸田露伴, 1867 to 1947), a leading figure of Meiji letters whose popularity ran alongside that of Ozaki Koyo. Rohan moved house constantly. Each time he took a new rental he called it Kagyuan, the snail hermitage, playing on the hermit crab that carries its shell from place to place. He moved three times within the Mukojima area alone, and this house is the one he stayed in longest during the Meiji era, from 1897 for about 10 years.
The building is timber-framed, single-storey with a partial upper floor, and roofed in tile over a floor area of 120 square meters. The roof is hipped, in the Yosemune-zukuri manner, and covered with pantiles; the outer walls are clapboard held by narrow battens. The house was taken down in 1969 and re-erected in 1972 on Block 3 of the museum grounds.
Why it was listed
Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan was registered under the criterion covering buildings that set a standard of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a building that conveys how a middle-class household of the period actually lived.
The plan explains what that means. A core block holds the entrance, the kitchen and two six-mat rooms, with a small upper storey set above it. A ten-mat guest room joins this core from the side. There is no formal axis of the kind found in samurai residences. Rooms look as though they were added as the household needed them.
Since the Edo period this stretch of the riverbank had been occupied by the villas and second houses of wealthy merchants, so plots here were generous. The roof shifts direction and height to follow the irregular plan, which is why the building never resolves into a single block when you look at it from outside. This is not a house tidied up on a drawing board. It is a house shaped by the practicalities of living in it.
The guest room, the earth eaves and the darkroom
The ten-mat room is understood to have been Rohan's study. It has a Tsukeshoin, a built-in writing alcove beside the window, and the veranda board running along its edge is left open, with no sliding screens to close it off. Beyond that, a deep earthen-roofed eave projects and shades the whole edge. Sit there on a clear afternoon and the shadow line falls short of the tatami, so what reaches your eye is the brightness of the garden rather than the garden itself.
The decorative nail covers in the guest room are shaped as waterfowl. Bokuto, the old name for the land east of the Sumida River, turns up even in a piece of hardware this small.
Rohan was a keen photographer, and he fitted out a darkroom on the ground floor with red glass in the window. Anyone picturing a writer's house as a desk and a stack of manuscript paper will find that room unexpected.
Walk a full circle around the outside. The roof of Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan sits at different heights over the core and over the guest room, and the silhouette changes with every corner you turn.
Visiting
Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan stands at plot 26 on Block 3 of the Museum Meiji-Mura. There is no separate charge for the building; entry to the museum covers it. Admission is 2,500 yen for adults, 1,500 yen for high school students and 700 yen for junior high and elementary school pupils. Preschool children enter free.
Opening hours shift with the season. March, April through July, September and October run from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. August runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. November runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. December through February run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The museum sets closed days in blocks of several weekdays each month, so check the official calendar before you travel.
The interior is open to visitors. Volunteer guides sometimes staff the house in the character of the Koda family and talk visitors through the rooms, though this programme is suspended in certain periods. Parts of a building may also be roped off for safety or repair work.
Photography is allowed. Tripods may not be used inside the buildings, and stepping off the paths into the wooded areas to take pictures is prohibited. Do not aim a flash at the drivers of the tram or steam locomotive that run through the grounds.
To get there, take the Gifu Bus Meiji-Mura line from the east exit of Meitetsu Inuyama Station, a ride of about 20 minutes. By car the museum is about 3 kilometers from the Komaki-higashi interchange on the Chuo Expressway, and parking costs 1,000 yen for an ordinary vehicle.
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Q&A
- Where is Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan and how do I get there?
- It stands at plot 26 on Block 3 of the Museum Meiji-Mura, at 1 Uchiyama, Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture. Take the Gifu Bus Meiji-Mura line from the east exit of Meitetsu Inuyama Station, about 20 minutes. By car it is about 3 kilometers from the Komaki-higashi interchange on the Chuo Expressway, with parking at 1,000 yen.
- What does the name Kagyuan mean, and why is it attached to Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan?
- Kagyuan means snail hermitage. The novelist Koda Rohan moved house so often that he gave the name to each place he rented, playing on the hermit crab that changes shells. He lived in this particular house from 1897 for about 10 years, the longest he stayed anywhere during the Meiji era.
- Can I go inside Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan?
- Yes, the interior is open. Volunteer guides sometimes present the house in character as members of the Koda household, though that programme pauses in some periods. Sections may be closed off for safety or repairs, so follow the on-site notices.
- How much does it cost to see Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan?
- There is no charge for the individual building. Museum admission covers it: 2,500 yen for adults, 1,500 yen for high school students, 700 yen for junior high and elementary pupils, free for preschool children. Prices are revised from time to time, so confirm on the official site.
- Is photography permitted at Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan?
- Yes. Tripods are not allowed inside the buildings, and photography that involves entering the wooded areas is prohibited. Flash aimed at vehicle drivers in the grounds is also forbidden.
Basic Information
| Name | Meiji Village Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan |
|---|---|
| Location | Museum Meiji-Mura, 1 Uchiyama, Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2003 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Floor area 120 square meters |
| Owner | Meiji Mura Public Interest Foundation |
| Public Access | Open during museum hours; admission fee required |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003667
- Cultural Heritage Online
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/116747
- Museum Meiji-Mura, Koda Rohan Residence Kagyuan
- https://www.meijimura.com/sight/%e5%b9%b8%e7%94%b0%e9%9c%b2%e4%bc%b4%e4%bd%8f%e5%ae%85%e3%80%8c%e8%9d%b8%e7%89%9b%e5%ba%b5%e3%80%8d/
- Museum Meiji-Mura, Admission Prices
- https://www.meijimura.com/guide/price/
- Museum Meiji-Mura, Opening Schedule
- https://www.meijimura.com/guide/open/
- Museum Meiji-Mura, Access
- https://www.meijimura.com/guide/access/
Last verified: 2026.09.03