The House on the Old Merchant Street
The Shomura Family Residence Main House (庄村家住宅主屋) is the main house of a merchant family of about the early Meiji era in Shimadani, Hachiman-cho, Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 28, 2001 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a 2-storey timber building roofed in galvanized steel sheet, with a building area of 188 square metres; registration number 21-0046.
A Merchant House on the Main Street
The Shomura Family Residence Main House faces the street that was the commercial heart of Hachiman from the Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The family plot runs from that street on the south to the Yoshida River on the north, and the main house takes the street side.
It is six bays long, with the ridge parallel to the street and the entrance on the long side under a gabled roof. Projecting beams with carved ends carry the lattice windows of the upper floor, and a small eave roof with a gentle upward swell, called mukuri, runs across the front (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Inside is a sukiya-style reception room with decorative transoms.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency describes it as a large merchant house whose details are consistently well designed, and registered it as a model of design.
What to Look For
From the street, look up at the upper floor: the beam ends that carry the lattice windows are carved with ornamental patterns (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The gently swelling line of the eave roof gives the front its character.
Dated to about the early Meiji era, the main house is the oldest of the four registered buildings; the storehouses and annex behind it date from the late Meiji era (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The main house faces the street, and its front can be seen from there. No official information on interior access was found; please view it from the street without entering the property.
Q&A
- When was the Shomura Family Residence Main House built?
- In about the early Meiji era (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Where is the Shomura Family Residence Main House?
- In Shimadani, Hachiman-cho, Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture, on the street that was the commercial heart of Hachiman from the Edo period.
- What should I look for on the main house?
- The carved beam ends under the upper-floor lattice windows and the gently swelling eave roof.
- Can I go inside the Shomura Family Residence Main House?
- No official information on interior access was found. The front can be seen from the street.
- When was the Shomura Family Residence Main House registered?
- On August 28, 2001 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Shomura Family Residence Main House (庄村家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1145 Shimadani, Hachiman-cho, Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2001/08/28 (Heisei 13) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber, galvanized steel sheet roof, 188 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | No official information on public access (exterior from the street) |
References
- Shomura Family Residence Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002251
Last verified: 2026.10.20
