Tondaya Main House

The Merchant House Built Around 1885

Tondaya Main House (冨田屋主屋, Tondaya Shuoku) is a townhouse (Machiya) built around 1885 for a kimono wholesaler in the Nishijin district of Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on 23 August 1999. It is a wooden, 2-storey building with a tiled roof and a building area of 117 square metres, and it forms the core of the five registered buildings at Tondaya.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the family, money changers in Fushimi until the end of the Edo era, moved here after the Battle of Toba-Fushimi and built the house when they set up as textile wholesalers. It measures about 5 Ken across the frontage and 7 ken deep. In the omoteya-zukuri manner, a shop block facing Omiya-dori is joined through the entrance to a living block behind it, and the registration treats the whole ensemble as a single building, the Tondaya Main House.

Why It Was Registered

The Tondaya Main House was registered as a model of architectural form. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a fine example of the large merchant houses built within Kyoto in the Meiji era. A frontage of 5 ken and a depth of 7 ken gave the family room to set a separate shop block and living block one behind the other, which is what the omoteya-zukuri plan requires.

Kyoto City points out a second feature: the upper floor of the shop block is taller than those of neighbouring townhouses. Many Kyoto machiya have a low, half-height upper storey (Tsushi-nikai), so a full-height second floor is relatively unusual for a Meiji townhouse. From the street you can compare the height of its upper floor with the townhouses on either side.

What to Look For Inside

Kyoto City singles out the ground-floor reception rooms for the quality of their fittings. The alcove (Tokonoma) and the shelved recess beside it (Tokowaki) are framed by a decorative post (Tokobashira) and a built-in writing bay (Tsukeshoin), with small cupboard doors set above. The transoms (Ranma) are decorated with gold dust, which shows best when low light slants across the room.

In the room east of the entrance, a shrine to Toshitokujin, the deity of the year's good fortune, is placed to face that year's lucky direction (eho). Kyoto City cites it as a glimpse of machiya household culture. At Tondaya the ritual is not a museum display; the house still observes it.

The official VR map covers the shop block's earthen floors (mise-niwa and genkan-niwa), the rear reception room on the ground floor, the upstairs rooms and a concealed staircase leading up to them. Clicking through it before a visit makes the layout easier to follow once the guide starts moving.

Visiting the Main House

The interior of the Tondaya Main House can be seen on the guided townhouse tour that is part of every reserved experience program. The tour centres on the earthen floors of the shop block and the ground-floor reception rooms; whether the upstairs rooms are included depends on the program and the day, so it is worth asking when you book.

The exterior is visible from Omiya-dori. Stand on the opposite side of the street to compare the height of the upper floor with the houses next door. Socks are required indoors to protect the building. Booking, hours, fees and directions are covered on the Tondaya page.