Tondaya

A Kimono Wholesaler on the Street of a Thousand Ryo

Tondaya (冨田屋, sometimes misread as Tomitaya) is a merchant townhouse built around 1885 for a kimono wholesaler in the Nishijin district of Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, and five of its buildings, the main house, the front storehouse, the middle storehouse, the treasure storehouse and the annex, were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan on 23 August 1999. The house stands on Omiya-dori just north of Ichijo-dori, at 697 Ishiyakushi-cho, and today opens its interior by reservation as the Nishijin Kurashi no Bijutsukan (Nishijin Museum of Daily Life), a venue for guided cultural experiences.

The name is pronounced Tondaya, a reading confirmed by both the Agency for Cultural Affairs database and Kyoto City. It is a shop name (yago) rather than a surname: the family's own website introduces the house as the Tanaka residence trading as Tondaya, and says the hereditary name of the household head, Tondaya Tobei, has now passed to its 13th holder.

The business began in Fushimi, south of the old capital. According to the family and to Kyoto City, the first Tobei opened a money-changing house there in the middle of the Edo period and grew into one of the great merchants of the town; the Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the family was still changing money in Fushimi at the close of the Edo era. In 1868 the Battle of Toba-Fushimi burned the house to the ground, and the family moved north into Nishijin, the city's silk-weaving quarter.

They settled near Senryogatsuji, the crossroads where, it was said, a thousand ryo worth of silk changed hands every day. Around 1885 they built the present main house as the headquarters of a kimono wholesaling business (the national database describes the trade as textile wholesaling). In 1935 the lot was extended westward, and the annex and treasure storehouse were added on the new ground.

Five Registered Buildings, One Deep Lot

All five buildings were registered on the same day and carry consecutive numbers, 26-0040 through 26-0044: the main house is 26-0040, the annex 26-0041, the front storehouse 26-0042, the middle storehouse 26-0043 and the treasure storehouse 26-0044. Four were registered as models of architectural form. The front storehouse was registered on a different criterion, for its contribution to the historic townscape, a recognition of the part it plays on the street corner rather than of its interior.

The house follows the omoteya-zukuri plan used by larger Kyoto merchants. A shop block faces the street, and behind it, across the entrance, stands the family's living block. Kyoto City's description walks the plan from front to back: the main house, then a formal garden, the middle storehouse, another garden, the treasure storehouse and finally the annex with its tea room and guest rooms. The city's museum council counts six small courtyard gardens (tsuboniwa) and three storehouses on the property.

Read by date, the lot has two layers. The main house, front storehouse and middle storehouse belong to the early Meiji era; the annex and treasure storehouse date from the Showa 10s (1935 to 1944). The Meiji buildings were made for trade, the Showa ones for receiving guests, and they line up in that order as you move deeper into the property.

Kyoto City has also named Tondaya a Landscape Important Building under its own townscape program, so the house is protected by both national registration and municipal landscape policy.

Moving Through the House

Visits are guided; guests do not wander at will. The official panoramic VR map lays out the route in order: in through the shop block, across the earthen-floored mise-niwa and genkan-niwa (see Doma), past the formal entrance into the rear reception room of the main house, then along a corridor and the red pine corridor to the treasure storehouse, the annex, the annex's inner reception room, the tea room and a tea room with table seating. The upstairs rooms of the main house and a concealed staircase leading to them are included as well.

The museum council describes the red pine corridor as a single 10-metre run without a joint. On the VR route it marks the passage from the Meiji main house to the Showa additions at the back.

The front storehouse can be seen without going inside. It stands on a street corner facing Omiya-dori, so its exterior is visible from the road at any time.

Booking, Hours and Fees

The interior of Tondaya can be seen only as part of a reserved experience program. Kimono dressing, tea ceremony, flower arranging, calligraphy, incense appreciation and a traditional bento lunch each include a guided tour of the townhouse, and most programs run about 60 minutes. The family is explicit that this is a place to experience culture, not a café, and asks casual drop-in visitors to look elsewhere.

Prices depend on the program. The Kyoto Prefecture tourism federation lists the kimono, tea and bento experiences at 11,000 yen per person each, tour included, with a 30 percent New Year surcharge from 28 December to 5 January. Seasonal events with a meal are also offered, and current prices should be checked on the official site before booking.

The official site gives business hours of 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with closures only on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The tourism federation lists daytime hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:00 p.m.), which is the practical window for daytime programs. Reservations are taken by phone at 075-432-6701 or through the official site. To protect the building, visitors are asked to wear socks.

Photography is expected: the English booking page says staff will take pictures with your own smartphone, of you in kimono in the garden or holding a tea bowl in the tea room. Which rooms may be photographed is up to the guide on the day.

Getting There

The nearest stop is Ichijo Modoribashi Seimei-jinja-mae on the Kyoto City Bus network, a 3-minute walk away according to Kyoto City. The tourism federation also lists the Imadegawa Omiya stop. The street address is 697 Ishiyakushi-cho, Kamigyo Ward, on Omiya-dori just north of Ichijo-dori.

No visitor parking is advertised. Coaches may stop briefly in front of Tondaya's separate building (bekkan) to let passengers on and off, but the family notes that they cannot park there.