A Farmhouse Built for a Village Headman in 1848
The Former Omi Family Residence Main House (旧尾見家住宅主屋, Kyū-Omi-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a late Edo-period farmhouse in the Murata district of Chikusei City, Ibaraki Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 29 November 2016 (Heisei 28). Records kept by the household place its construction in 1848.
Scale is the first thing that registers. The building runs 31 meters along its front and 23 meters deep, covers 401 square meters, and turns a corner so that the plan reads as an L. Its roof is Yosemune-zukuri, hipped on all four sides, laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles.
The Omi family held the office of village headman, or nanushi, throughout the Edo period in what was then Yoshima village, and had the right to a surname and a sword. Chikusei City records that a prince of the Kitashirakawa house rested here in 1882 (Meiji 15) and that Prince Kan'in Haruhito stayed overnight in 1933 (Showa 8). The household also appeared in Dai Nihon Hakuranzu, an illustrated survey of prominent families published in 1892 (Meiji 25).
The estate was once wider than what stands now. Buildings for the family's soy sauce business occupied the east side. A document storehouse, a miso storehouse, an earthen storehouse and rooms for storage and pickling stood to the west, the mikoshi storehouse to the southwest, and the Yakuimon gate, another storehouse and a peony garden to the south.
What the Registration Recognizes
Three buildings on this site were registered on the same day in 2016, each as a separate entry. The Former Omi Family Residence Main House holds registration number 08-0294 and was accepted under the criterion for work that sets a standard in design. Registration and designation are different instruments, and the distinction is set out under Registered Tangible Cultural Property.
The plan carries the argument. The raised floor is divided into 3 ranks of rooms, 7 in all, and a corridor of Tatami one Ken wide, about 1.8 meters, wraps the south and west sides. A Shikidai entrance stands at the centre of the middle rank on the front elevation, the formal doorway to which a headman was entitled. At the west end of the rear, 2 rooms of 6 mats each project outward along with a bath and a lavatory.
A working farmhouse layout and the ceremonial entrance of a local official sit under one continuous roof. The Agency for Cultural Affairs entry sums the point up by saying that the house carries the formality proper to a headman, and it is that combination, rather than any one room, that stands behind the registration of the Former Omi Family Residence Main House.
Details Worth Slowing Down For
Begin at the Shikidai entrance. Its roof is Irimoya-zukuri and steps forward of the main eaves line; the gable end carries carved ornament. Along the ridge above, the stacked tile course is worked with kote-e, relief pictures modelled in coloured Shikkui plaster. Chikusei City picks out this plasterwork in its own description of the Former Omi Family Residence Main House.
Inside, the Doma still holds its well and its cooking range, and a bathing room survives at the same level.
The tatami corridor, called irikawa, explains the rank of the building better than any single room does. It allows movement around the formal rooms without cutting across them, and here it runs along two sides rather than one.
Then walk out into the garden and turn round. From a distance the 31-meter frontage resolves into one long, low eaves line. That horizontal is how a house of 401 square meters avoids looking tall.
Visiting the Former Omi Family Residence Main House
The Former Omi Family Residence Main House is privately owned, and the family line that built it had no successor to occupy the building. Since June 2023 the neighbouring brewery Raifuku Shuzo has run the Doma as a cafe called OMI CAFE by RAIFUKU, and that is how the interior can now be seen. The brewery was founded in 1716 by a merchant from Omi province on land the Omi family sold to him, which makes the present arrangement a return of a favour about 300 years old.
Opening hours are 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekdays and 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The cafe closes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and the 2nd Sunday of each month, and it can shut at short notice for staff training, so a call to 0296-45-5495 before setting out is time well spent. Bookings are taken through the operator's official LINE account, and groups of 7 or more are asked to reserve 2 weeks in advance. There are 15 parking spaces on site. Pets are not admitted.
By rail the nearest station is Shimodate, served by the JR Mito Line, the Kanto Railway Joso Line and the Moka Railway. The brewery gives the trip from Shimodate as about 10 minutes by taxi. By car it is roughly 1 hour from the Yawara interchange on the Joban Expressway along National Route 294.
No photography policy for the interior is published, so ask the staff before photographing the rooms. The exterior of the Former Omi Family Residence Main House can be seen from the grounds during opening hours.
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Q&A
- Can visitors go inside the Former Omi Family Residence Main House?
- Yes. The earth-floored doma is operated as OMI CAFE by RAIFUKU by the neighbouring Raifuku Shuzo brewery, and customers can sit inside it during opening hours. Other parts of the house are not advertised as open.
- What are the opening hours and closing days at the Former Omi Family Residence Main House?
- 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekdays and 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. It is closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and the 2nd Sunday of each month. Unscheduled closures happen, so phone 0296-45-5495 to confirm.
- How do I reach the Former Omi Family Residence Main House from Shimodate Station?
- About 10 minutes by taxi, according to the operator. Shimodate is served by the JR Mito Line, the Kanto Railway Joso Line and the Moka Railway. Drivers will find 15 parking spaces on site, and the road route is about 1 hour from the Yawara interchange via National Route 294.
- When was the Former Omi Family Residence Main House built, and when was it registered?
- Household records date the building to 1848. It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 29 November 2016 (Heisei 28), under registration number 08-0294.
- Is anything else registered at the same address as the Former Omi Family Residence Main House?
- Yes. The mikoshi storehouse to the southwest and the Yakuimon gate to the south were registered on the same day, each as its own entry. All 3 buildings stand at 1624 Shimomachi, Murata.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Omi Family Residence Main House (旧尾見家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1624 Shimomachi, Murata, Chikusei City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration number 08-0294 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 29 November 2016 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Frontage 31 meters, depth 23 meters, floor area 401 square meters |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | The doma is open as the cafe OMI CAFE by RAIFUKU. 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekdays, 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays; closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and the 2nd Sunday of each month |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Former Omi Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011253
- Chikusei City: Former Omi Family Residence
- https://www.city.chikusei.lg.jp/kyouiku-bunka-sports/bunkazai/nationally-registered/page004556.html
- Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education: Former Omi Family Residence Main House and 2 other buildings
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-registered-5951/
- OMI CAFE official site (Raifuku Shuzo)
- https://raifuku.co.jp/omicafe/
- Raifuku Shuzo: company profile and access
- https://raifuku.co.jp/about/
Last verified: 2026.09.06