A Thatched Farmhouse from Tokuyama
The Former Miyagawa Family Residence Main House (旧宮川家住宅主屋) is a mountain farmhouse of western Mino moved from Tokuyama Village of around 1890 in Oyana, Seki City, Gifu Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 2, 2018 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a thatched timber farmhouse, single-storey with a partial upper floor and a building area of 132 square metres; registration number 21-0263.
A Farmhouse Moved from Tokuyama
The main house of the former Miyagawa family residence is a farmhouse of around 1890 moved in 1987 from Tokuyama Village in Ibi District (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It stood at Tonyu on the left bank of the Ibi River, and when the Tokuyama Dam was to flood the valley it was moved to the grounds of the prefectural museum and restored to its first form (Bulletin of the Gifu Prefectural Museum).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it as a model of design.
A Hiroma Plan and a Papermaking Room
The house has a thatched hip-and-gable roof, cut back at the centre of the front to take a small eave. Inside it follows the hiroma plan, with an upper floor over part of the board-floored room and the sleeping room (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Its outer walls of vertical boards set between posts every half bay and a papermaking room in a corner of the earth-floored area show the character of mountain farmhouses in western Mino (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The 1988 report notes that the houses of Tokuyama used no clay walls at all, and that the upper floor was probably used for raising silkworms.
What to Look For
At the Miyagawa house, look for the thatched roof cut back at the front, the vertical-board walls and the papermaking room in the corner of the earth floor (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The main house of the former Miyagawa family residence is owned by Gifu Prefecture and stands outdoors at the Gifu Prefectural Museum in Gifu Prefectural Centennial Park (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Gifu Prefectural Museum). The museum opens from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (from 9:30 a.m. from November to March), with last entry at 4:00 p.m., and is closed on Mondays and over the New Year. Check with the museum whether the inside of the house can be entered.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- Around 1890 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Where did it come from?
- Tokuyama Village, moved in 1987.
- Why was it moved?
- The Tokuyama Dam was to flood its valley.
- Where is it now?
- At the Gifu Prefectural Museum.
- When was the Former Miyagawa Family Residence Main House registered?
- On November 2, 2018 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Miyagawa Family Residence Main House (旧宮川家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1989-4 Oyana, Seki City, Gifu Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2018/11/02 (Heisei 30) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single-storey with partial upper floor, thatched, 132 m² |
| Owner | Gifu Prefecture |
| Public Access | Gifu Prefectural Museum in Gifu Prefectural Centennial Park |
References
- Former Miyagawa Family Residence Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012538
- Visitor Guide (Gifu Prefectural Museum, in Japanese)
- https://www.gifu-kenpaku.jp/guide-3-2/
- Kodera Takehisa, "On the Miyagawa Residence of the Former Tokuyama Village" (Bulletin of the Gifu Prefectural Museum No. 9, 1988, in Japanese)
- https://www.gifu-kenpaku.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/%E5%B2%90%E9%98%9C%E7%9C%8C%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A4%A8_%E8%AA%BF%E6%9F%BB%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E5%A0%B1%E5%91%8A_%E7%AC%AC9%E5%8F%B7%EF%BC%881988%EF%BC%89_%E5%B0%8F%E5%AF%BA%E6%AD%A6%E4%B9%85_%E6%97%A7%E5%BE%B3%E5%B1%B1%E6%9D%91%E5%AE%AE%E5%B7%9D%E5%AE%B6%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A4%E3%81%84%E3%81%A6.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.30