Imao Family Residence

A Physician Family's Estate at Shinkano

The Imao Family Residence (今尾家住宅, Imao-ke Jutaku) is the estate of a family of physicians in Naka-Shinkano-cho, Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, whose main house, detached house, rice storehouse, front gate and wall, inner gate and wall and Yakushi hall were registered in 2007 as six Registered Tangible Cultural Properties.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the main house to 1900, the detached house, rice storehouse and inner gate to the Taisho period, the front gate and wall to the late Meiji and Taisho periods, and the Yakushi hall to 1925.

The Agency notes that the Yakushi hall conveys the standing of a physician family.

Layout and Main House

According to the Agency, the main house stands in the northwest corner of the site facing south. It is a large two-storey timber house, four bays by ten, with a pantiled hip-and-gable roof entered on the long side and lean-tos on all four sides. Black plastered walls, a high ridge with descending ridges and a formal entrance under a large gable at the centre give it an imposing look. It has a building area of 197 square metres.

The front gate stands on the south side; walls run from it east to the rice storehouse and west, turning north at the southwest corner, to the detached house. South of the main house, an inner gate and wall set off the detached house and garden. The Yakushi hall stands on a separate plot south of the front gate, across the road.

The whole arrangement of main house, gates and walls, storehouse, detached house, garden and hall survives around the main house.

Shinkano and the Imao Family

The Kakamigahara tourism association explains that Naka-Shinkano lies roughly midway between Unuma and Kano on the Nakasendo, and flourished as a tateba, a rest stop for travellers, with a notice board, the local office of the Tsubouchi bannermen and large teahouses; it was called an ai-no-shuku, an intermediate post town.

Shinkano served as a rest stop in 1861 when Princess Kazunomiya travelled to Edo to marry the shogun.

Visiting the Imao Family Residence

No official visitor information could be found. It appears to be a private residence, so do not enter the property without permission.

Enquiries: Kakamigahara City cultural properties section, 058-383-1475.