Oikawa Family Residence (Old Eaves) Main Building

Oikawa Family Residence (Furuken) Main House: A Living Piece of Tono's Castle-Town Heritage

In the heart of Tono City, Iwate Prefecture — the legendary "City of Folklore" immortalized in Kunio Yanagita's seminal 1910 work Tono Monogatari (Tales of Tono) — stands a remarkable piece of living architectural heritage. The Oikawa Family Residence, known by its traditional house name "Furuken," is a large Meiji-era machiya (townhouse) that has graced the old Muikamachi district since 1888. Registered as a national tangible cultural property in February 2022, this two-story wooden building preserves the distinctive features of Tono's traditional townhouse architecture while welcoming visitors as a family-run inn. Here, guests can sleep under the same roof that has sheltered generations of the Oikawa family, experiencing firsthand the warmth and craftsmanship of a bygone era.

A Brief History of Tono's Castle Town

Tono's history as a castle town dates back to 1627, when Nanbu Naoyoshi of the Hachinohe branch of the powerful Nanbu clan was transferred to Tono by order of the first lord of the Morioka domain, Nanbu Toshinao. Nanbu Naoyoshi established his seat at Nabekura Castle and organized the surrounding area into a proper castle town. For approximately 240 years until the Meiji Restoration, Tono served as the domain of the Tono Nanbu clan, governing 12,500 koku of rice production.

The castle town was strategically designed with cranked roads and defensive gate structures to slow enemy advances, and its commercial districts were organized by trade — as evidenced by surviving place names such as Kokumachi (grain district), Daikumachi (carpenter district), Zaimokumachi (lumber district), and Muikamachi (sixth-day market district). It was in this bustling Muikamachi commercial district that the Oikawa family established their home, which would eventually come to be known by the house name Furuken.

Architectural Features: The Nakaroji-Style Machiya

The Oikawa Family Residence is a splendid example of the large-scale machiya townhouse traditional to the Tono region. Built in 1888 (Meiji 21), the main house is a two-story timber-frame structure with a gabled roof (kirizuma-zukuri) covered in iron sheeting, oriented with its long facade facing the old highway to the south. The building covers approximately 170 square meters.

The most distinctive architectural feature is the nakaroji — a central passageway that runs straight through the building from the street frontage to the rear of the property. In historic Tono, this corridor originally served as a passage for horses, reflecting the deep bond between the people of the Nanbu domain and their horses, a relationship also famously expressed in the region's iconic L-shaped magariya farmhouses. The nakaroji divides the ground floor into eastern and western sections, with formal reception rooms (zashiki) arranged on each side.

From the western reception room, the residential quarters extend northward. At the southern end of this section is the joui — the main communal living space — which features an impressive open-ceiling void (fukiNuke) that rises through both stories, creating a dramatic sense of vertical space. The second-floor facade is adorned with elegant degoshi lattice windows, a hallmark of prosperous merchant townhouses, while a protective overhanging eave (hisashi) shelters the ground-floor frontage below.

In 1940 (Showa 15), the residence was selected as a subject of a survey documenting Tono's traditional townhouse architecture, a fact that contributed to its eventual registration as a cultural property more than 80 years later.

Why It Was Registered as a Tangible Cultural Property

The Oikawa Family Residence was registered as a national tangible cultural property (building) on February 17, 2022. The registration recognized the building as an exceptionally well-preserved example of the large-scale machiya characteristic of the Tono region.

According to the official description by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the residence retains the "typical features of the area" in outstanding condition. The combination of the nakaroji central passageway, the open-ceiling joui living space, the dual zashiki arrangement flanking the corridor, and the degoshi lattice windows on the second story together form a comprehensive record of how merchant families in Tono's castle town lived and conducted business during the Meiji period.

It is important to note that the registration does not celebrate architectural grandeur per se, but rather the authentic preservation of a regional building tradition. As the current owner has noted, the house was recognized specifically because of its nakaroji-style through-passage floor plan — a traditional Tono machiya form that is becoming increasingly rare as modernization transforms the old castle-town streetscape.

Highlights and What to See

Visiting or staying at the Oikawa Family Residence offers a rare opportunity to experience a living cultural property from the inside. Among the highlights, the soaring open ceiling of the joui common room is perhaps the most breathtaking feature. This space also houses a remarkably large kamidana (Shinto household altar shelf) decorated with traditional kirigami paper-cut ornaments unique to the region. The altar notably enshrines Yama-no-Kami, the deity of the mountains — a particularly fitting dedication in Tono, where mountain worship has deep roots.

The degoshi lattice windows on the second floor are best appreciated from the street, where they lend the facade a dignified presence that recalls the prosperity of Muikamachi's merchant community. The nakaroji central corridor, while no longer used for horses, retains its original spatial character and provides a fascinating glimpse into the practical design of castle-town commercial architecture.

The residence underwent renovations in 1974, 1979, and was partially relocated in 1985, but these changes have been sensitively managed to maintain the building's essential character. Today, the former commercial townhouse operates as Minshuku Furuken, a small family-run inn where guests can enjoy Tono's famous jingisukan (grilled lamb) dinner and warm hospitality in a setting that has remained fundamentally unchanged for over 135 years.

Staying at Minshuku Furuken

The Oikawa Family Residence currently operates as Minshuku Furuken, offering an intimate lodging experience in one of Tono's few remaining traditional townhouses. The inn has been welcoming guests for over 40 years, having been converted from a private residence by the family.

The minshuku is small and personal — with just a few guest rooms, groups of four or more often have the entire house to themselves. Dinner features Tono's celebrated jingisukan barbecued lamb, a local culinary tradition dating back to the 1950s that rivals Hokkaido's version in both history and flavor. Guests are welcome to bring their own beverages, including Tono's acclaimed local craft beers brewed with locally grown hops — Tono being one of Japan's largest hop-producing regions.

Reservations are accepted by telephone only, and bookings can be made from the first day of each month for dates up to three months ahead. The inn is located about a 15-minute walk from JR Tono Station, or a short bus ride (100 yen fare) to the Muikamachi or Shimokumimachi bus stops.

Nearby Attractions

The Oikawa Family Residence sits at the crossroads of Tono's rich cultural and folkloric heritage, making it an ideal base for exploring the area.

• Tono Castle Town Museum — A short walk away, this museum showcases the history of the Tono Nanbu clan's castle town with displays of samurai armor, daily implements, and exhibits about the town's defensive layout. Combined admission with the Tono Monogatari-no-Yakata Museum.
• Tono Monogatari-no-Yakata (Tono Folktale Museum) — Housed in a converted sake brewery near JR Tono Station, this museum brings the famous legends of Tono to life through multimedia presentations and displays. It also contains Yanagita Kunio's original study, relocated from Tokyo.
• Kappabuchi Pool — A legendary pool behind Jokenji Temple where kappa water spirits are said to dwell. Visitors may encounter locals fishing for kappa with cucumbers as bait.
• Denshoen Park — An open-air museum featuring a nationally designated Important Cultural Property Nanbu Magariya (L-shaped farmhouse) from the 1750s, offering insight into traditional rural life.
• Nabekura Castle Ruins — The hilltop ruins of the Tono Nanbu clan's castle, now a park with panoramic views of the Tono basin.
• Tono Municipal Museum — Japan's first museum dedicated to folklore studies, with comprehensive exhibitions on the natural history and folk culture of the Tono region.
• Fukusenji Temple — A large Shingon Buddhist temple complex featuring a 17-meter wooden statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy.