Kumagai Family Residence (Shimogyo, Kyoto)

The Kumagai Family Residence, Kyoto

The Kumagai Family Residence (熊谷家住宅) is the home of a kimono-fabric merchant facing east onto Muromachi-dori in Bandoyacho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto; its main house and its gate and wall, both of around 1924, were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on November 29, 2016 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

A Modern House behind a Merchant Wall

The main house stands on a plot 12 metres wide, with an east-west corridor through the middle, reception rooms to the north and the kitchen to the south. It has no earth-floored area, and both floors have Western rooms at the front, with fine finishes in Japanese and Western rooms alike (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The gate and wall wrap the front and both sides of the plot, with an entrance and waiting room at the south end and a projecting lattice window matching the Western room of the main house. With wide vertical boards below clay walls, they keep the look of the textile wholesale district (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each is described on its own page.

Visiting

The owner is not listed in the Agency record. It is a private house, and no official information on public access was found.