Yasuda Family Residence Main House

A Town House on the Old Nakasendo

The Yasuda Family Residence Main House (安田家住宅主屋) is a two-storey wooden town house built around 1930 on the old Nakasendo highway in Unuma-nishimachi, Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on May 15, 2007. It stands in the streetscape of Unuma-juku, a post town on the Nakasendo (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kakamigahara City).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a two-storey wooden building with a tiled roof and a building area of 128 square metres; registration number 21-0110, with no owner listed.

Why It Was Registered

The Yasuda Family Residence Main House was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it stands in a continuous row with other town houses such as the Sakai Family Residence (also registered), conveying the look of the post town.

Unuma-juku was the 52nd of the 69 Nakasendo stations counting from Nihonbashi in Edo, and the city has restored its sub-headquarters inn, opened a town-house museum, repaired landmark buildings and reinstated water channels (Kakamigahara tourism information). The Yasuda house, built in the early Showa era, is part of that continuous street front.

What to Look For

The Yasuda Family Residence Main House faces north onto the old Nakasendo. It is gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) with pantiles and entered on the long side, with a tiled pent roof across the front. The street front is finished in grey plaster with lattices over the openings (Agency for Cultural Affairs), giving it a quiet face.

Inside, four 8-mat rooms are laid out in a regular grid, with an earth-floored area on the east (Agency for Cultural Affairs); the position of the entrance from the street reflects that plan.

Visiting the Yasuda Family Residence

The Yasuda Family Residence Main House appears to be a private home, and we found no official information on interior access. The exterior can be seen from the old Nakasendo. The Unuma-juku Machiya-kan (058-379-5055) is the information point for the post town (Kakamigahara tourism information).