A Farmhouse That Moved Eighty Kilometres
The Former Okahana Residence (旧岡花家住宅, Kyū Okahana-ke Jūtaku) is a mid-Edo period farmhouse now standing at 1-1 Hongu-cho, Ayabe City, Kyoto Prefecture, designated an Important Cultural Property on 15 May 1972. Its full register name carries its origin in brackets: former location, Mizuho-cho, Funai County.
That bracket is the whole story. The house was built in the mountain hamlet of Shizushi, in what was then Mizuho-cho and is now Kyotamba-cho, roughly eighty kilometres by road from where it stands today. The Okahana family had been there long enough to appear in seventeenth-century documents; local accounts describe them as village officers holding some twenty-four koku of assessed rice yield in the Kyōhō era, which would place them near the top of Shizushi society without making them gentry.
When the family built a new house, the old one became surplus. Rather than let it come down, they transferred it to Oomoto, the religious organisation founded in Ayabe in 1892. It was dismantled in the summer of 1969 and re-erected inside the Baishoen precinct, the organisation's sacred grounds at the foot of Mount Hongu. Sources differ on the completion year, giving either 1971 or 1972; the designation followed in May 1972. Given a new name, Konohana-an, after the blossom deity Konohanasakuya-hime, it now serves as a tea house where visiting members are received.
The Settan Plan: Why the Gable Faces You
The register describes a building 12.1 metres along the ridge and 9.3 metres across, with a hipped-and-gabled thatched roof and, critically, tsuma-iri entry. That last term means the door is on the gable end rather than the long side. Most Japanese farmhouses are entered from the eaves side; putting the entrance under the gable changes how the whole interior is organised, and it is the first thing to look for here.
Behind that entrance the plan runs lengthwise rather than in the usual grid. The Agency for Cultural Affairs commentary notes that the layout resembles an urban townhouse in its vertical division, which is a striking observation about a farmhouse in the hills. Three raised rooms sit in a row beyond the earthen-floored work area. Architectural historians classify this as the Settan type, also called the Nose type after the district in northern Osaka where it clusters, and the Former Okahana Residence is generally cited as the oldest surviving example of the gable-entry, lengthwise-divided variant.
The type appears to have evolved. Earlier Settan houses were entered from the eaves side, with the earth floor confined to the area in front of the kitchen and a generous stable given over to cattle and horses. Reading the Okahana house against that background turns it into evidence for a shift in how rural households arranged work, animals and living space during the seventeenth century.
Dating carries a small uncertainty. The national register gives mid-Edo, bracketed as 1661 to 1750. Prefectural and specialist sources tend to narrow this to the late seventeenth century. Neither figure rests on a dated inscription, so both are structural estimates.
Seeing It: Inside a Working Sacred Precinct
The house stands beside Kinryukai, the pond at the heart of the Baishoen garden, with maples reflected in the water and moss covering the paths around it. Baishoen is not a museum. It is an active religious centre, and the building is in use, so what you can see depends on the day and on asking properly.
General visitors can enter the precinct by reporting to the office on arrival; admission is free. Interior viewing of the major halls, including the vast timber Chosei-den and the registered Miroku-den, is arranged by advance reservation. For the Former Okahana Residence, treat interior access as something to request rather than assume, and confirm before travelling if seeing inside matters to you. Exterior appreciation from the garden path is straightforward, and the thatched gable rising above the pond edge is the view most people come away with.
Ayabe is reached on the JR Sanin Line; limited express services from Kyoto stop there, and the precinct lies southeast of the city centre. Autumn colour around the pond draws the largest crowds, and early spring brings the plum blossom the garden's name refers to. If you are already travelling this coast toward Amanohashidate, the detour costs little.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kyoto
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Okahana Family Residence (from Mizuho Town, Funai District, Kyoto Prefecture)
- [ Kinkakuji Fushimi Inari & Kimono Rental ]
Q&A
- Where is the Former Okahana Residence now, and why does its name mention Mizuho-cho?
- It stands in the Baishoen precinct at 1-1 Hongu-cho, Ayabe City. The register name preserves its original location in Shizushi, Mizuho-cho, Funai County, now part of Kyotamba-cho, from where it was dismantled in 1969 and rebuilt in Ayabe.
- Can visitors go inside the Former Okahana Residence?
- The building is in active use as a tea house under the name Konohana-an, so interior access is not automatic. Entry to the Baishoen grounds is free after reporting at the office, and interior viewing of buildings in the precinct is generally arranged in advance. Confirm directly before travelling.
- What is the Settan type of farmhouse, and how does the Former Okahana Residence fit it?
- Settan, also called Nose type, refers to farmhouses of the Osaka and Tanba border country. The Okahana house represents the gable-entry, lengthwise-divided version with three raised rooms in a row, and is cited as the oldest surviving example of that variant.
- How old is the Former Okahana Residence exactly?
- The national register gives mid-Edo period, bracketed as 1661 to 1750. Other studies narrow this to the late seventeenth century. There is no dated inscription, so both figures are estimates based on structural evidence.
- How do you reach the Former Okahana Residence from Kyoto?
- Take the JR Sanin Line to Ayabe Station, served by Kinosaki and Hashidate limited expresses from Kyoto, then continue to the Baishoen precinct southeast of the city centre. Autumn is the busiest season around the pond.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Okahana Residence, formerly located in Mizuho-cho, Funai County (旧岡花家住宅) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-1 Hongu-cho, Ayabe City, Kyoto Prefecture (Oomoto Baishoen) |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Structures) |
| Year Designated | 15 May 1972 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 12.1 m along the ridge, 9.3 m across; hipped-and-gabled, gable entry, thatched |
| Owner | Religious corporation Oomoto |
| Public Access | Precinct free on reporting at the office; building in use as a tea house, interior by arrangement |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/1939
- Japan Minka Revival Association, Former Okahana Residence
- https://www.jminka.com/post/kyoto-okahanake
- Kyototuu Encyclopedia, Oomoto Baishoen
- https://www.kyototuu.jp/Jinjya/OhomotoBaisyouen.html
- Oomoto Official Website
- https://www.oomoto.or.jp/
- Sanin Line Sightseeing Guide, Konohana-an
- https://saninsen.mi-ktt.ne.jp/kankou_place/konohana/
Last verified: 2026.08.07