The Headman's House
The Former Suzuki Family Residence, known as the House of the Kimoiri (旧鈴木家住宅（肝煎りの家）, Kyū Suzuki-ke Jūtaku, Kimoiri no Ie), is a late Edo-period thatched farmhouse in Kamitsukumoushi, Tsukumoushi Town, Tōno City, Iwate Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 October 2006. It was relocated to the eastern part of Tōno Furusato Village in 1994.
Kimoiri was the Nanbu domain's term for a village headman, the official who collected taxes, settled disputes and stood between the peasantry and the domain administration. The title is written into the building. At 380 square metres it is the largest farmhouse in the village and among the largest surviving magariya anywhere in Tōhoku.
Twelve Ken by Six
The main range runs twelve ken along the ridge and six ken across, roughly 22 by 11 metres in modern units. From that mass the earth-floored doma and the stable project forward to make the L of the magariya. The roof is hipped and thatched over a single-storey timber frame.
The room sequence is where the headman's rank becomes legible. A ten-mat inner zashiki with a tokonoma alcove opens into a fifteen-mat zashiki, and beyond that comes an eight-mat middle room. Three connected formal rooms of that size were not domestic space. They were where a village conducted its official business, received inspectors, and held the ceremonies that required a witness of standing.
Compare the arrangement with the ordinary farmhouses standing a few minutes away in the same village and the difference is immediate. Most magariya put one modest zashiki behind the daily living room. This one puts three in a row, and gives the innermost an alcove.
Registration cited the criterion of serving as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs description calls it a magariya dwelling of large scale even by the standards of the Tōhoku region.
Horses Under the Same Roof
Enter through the doma and the stable is on your left, opening directly into the working part of the house. That proximity was deliberate. In the Nanbu domain horses were bred for the military and then for haulage and ploughing, and a farmer's standing was measured partly in horseflesh. Keeping animals inside the thatch meant warmth in winter and supervision at foaling.
Tōno Furusato Village still keeps horses, so the stables are occupied. A white mare named Shirayuki is the village's best-known resident, and ponies wander the paths. Seeing a horse in the space it was built for changes the way the plan reads.
The village recreates a mountain hamlet across 8.8 hectares, with seven relocated farmhouses, a watermill, unpaved paths and worked fields. The neighbours span a wide period: Kobiru-no-ie of 1762, Yajūrō-don of 1812, Kawamae-bekke of the late Edo period, Daiku-don of the middle Meiji period. Staff called maburitto, the guardians, work in the houses and run hands-on sessions in rope-making and rice-cake pounding for visitors who book in advance.
In winter the village hosts Tōno Dobekko Matsuri, a festival built around dobekko, the local unrefined sake, held inside the magariya themselves around the sunken hearths.
Planning Your Visit
Tōno Furusato Village opens 9:00 to 17:00 from March through October, with last entry at 16:00, and 9:00 to 16:00 from November through February, with last entry at 15:00. It closes 30 December to 3 January and on Wednesdays from January to mid-March. Admission has recently been quoted at 750 yen general and 400 yen for primary, junior high and high school students, revised upward from earlier figures, so verify before travelling. Telephone 0198-64-2300.
Interiors are open, photography is permitted, and pets are welcome. Wear shoes you can slip off easily and expect earth underfoot between buildings.
The village is roughly 12 kilometres from JR Tōno Station, about 25 minutes by car, and around 17 minutes from Tōno Interchange. The Tsukumoushi bus route stops at Furusato Mura but runs rarely. Parking is free. Anyone interested in the folklore should pair the visit with the Tōno Municipal Museum near Nabekura Park, which opened in 1980 as Japan's first museum devoted to folklore studies.
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Q&A
- What does the name of the Former Suzuki Family Residence, House of the Kimoiri, mean?
- Kimoiri was the Nanbu domain's title for a village headman, equivalent to shōya elsewhere in Japan. The name records that the Suzuki family held that office.
- Can visitors enter the Former Suzuki Family Residence, House of the Kimoiri?
- Yes. It stands in Tōno Furusato Village in Tsukumoushi Town, Tōno City, and interiors of the relocated farmhouses are open with village admission.
- How large is the Former Suzuki Family Residence, House of the Kimoiri?
- The building area is 380 square metres, twelve ken along the ridge by six ken across. It is the largest farmhouse in Tōno Furusato Village and a large example of the magariya form for the Tōhoku region generally.
- When was the Former Suzuki Family Residence, House of the Kimoiri built and registered?
- It dates from the late Edo period, broadly the 1830s to 1860s, was relocated in 1994, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 October 2006.
- What are the opening hours and admission for the Former Suzuki Family Residence, House of the Kimoiri?
- Tōno Furusato Village opens 9:00 to 17:00 from March to October and 9:00 to 16:00 from November to February, entry closing an hour earlier. Admission has recently been 750 yen general and 400 yen for students; check current rates first.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Suzuki Family Residence, House of the Kimoiri (旧鈴木家住宅（肝煎りの家）) |
|---|---|
| Location | 5-89-1 Kamitsukumoushi, Tsukumoushi Town, Tōno City, Iwate Prefecture (Tōno Furusato Village) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 03-0062 |
| Year Designated | Registered 18 October 2006 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber frame, thatched hipped roof, building area 380 sq m; 12 ken along the ridge by 6 ken across |
| Owner | Not recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Open with admission to Tōno Furusato Village; hours vary seasonally |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005730
- Cultural Heritage Online
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/index.php/heritages/detail/141498
- Tōno Furusato Village official site
- https://www.tono-furusato.jp/about
- Tōno City Tourism Information, Tōno Jikan
- https://tonojikan.jp/tourism/tono-furusatomura/
Last verified: 2026.08.06