Takemuraya (Onomichi)

About Takemuraya

Takemuraya (竹村家) is an inn facing the Onomichi Channel in Kubo, Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, whose main house of 1920 and gate and wall were registered as two Registered Tangible Cultural Property structures on November 8, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

According to the Japan Heritage portal (text by Onomichi City), Takemuraya is a Taisho-era inn whose waterfront setting links it to the film Tokyo Story. It is a component of the Japan Heritage story of Onomichi as a miniature-garden town shaped by the channel since medieval times.

Two Structures

The main house, two storeys of timber with the street to the north and the sea to the south, is T-shaped, a north-south block meeting an east-west one. Inside it is a delicate shoin-style interior rich in bamboo work; the north front, with ridges at different levels in the yatsumune manner, looks massive and bold (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The gate, towards the west of the north side, is a gabled copper-roofed munemon with a short return wall. The wall beyond has exposed posts, a pantile coping and black plaster above waist height, pierced by long low windows fitted with blinds (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Both were registered as contributing to the historic landscape of the country.

Visiting and Location

We found no official information on visits to the Takemuraya buildings. The gate and wall can be seen from the street. The address is 3-14-1 Kubo, Onomichi City.