The Garden-Facing Eirakukan East Building
The Eirakukan East Building (栄楽館東棟, Eirakukan Higashi-to) is a 2-storey timber building with reception rooms in the northeast part of Eirakukan, a former ryotei restaurant in Ueno Aioicho, Iga City, Mie Prefecture; built in 1873 and renovated in 1994, it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 25, 2014. It has a tiled roof and a building area of 109 square meters.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the East Building as standing with its ridge running north to south. On the ground floor two zashiki, tatami reception rooms, sit side by side facing the courtyard, and the upper floor is left open as a single large hall. The South Building also stacks reception rooms on two floors, but the undivided upstairs hall sets the Eirakukan East Building apart from it.
Registration and the Garden View of the Eirakukan East Building
The Eirakukan East Building is registration number 24-0174, listed as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country, on the same day as the South Building, the storehouse, and the gate and wall.
What the national description singles out is the veranda wrapped around the west and north sides, from which guests looked through glazed windows onto the garden. Set in the northeast of the lot, the Eirakukan East Building turns those two open faces toward the garden. It reads as a building designed as much for the view from its rooms as for the rooms themselves.
The description does not say when the glass went in, so whether the glazing dates from 1873 or from a later alteration remains an open question.
What to Look For: The Alcove Post in the Eirakukan East Building
The detail to find in the Eirakukan East Building is the Tokobashira, the decorative post beside the alcove in the upstairs hall. Instead of a straight, squared timber, it is a curved log used with its natural bend. Letting the shape of the tree show in this way belongs to the relaxed, rustic taste of sukiya design, and the national description sums up the upstairs hall as sukiya in style.
Downstairs the two rooms open onto the courtyard; upstairs the hall looks down on the garden over the veranda. The same garden is meant to be seen close up from one floor and from above on the other.
Seeing the Eirakukan East Building
The Eirakukan East Building is now part of the KANMURI wing of NIPPONIA HOTEL Iga Ueno Jokamachi, and it is not open to the general public. The hotel's site describes three KANMURI guest rooms and a restaurant but does not say which of them lie in the Eirakukan East Building.
Because the building stands behind the wall, expect to see little of it from the street. Only hotel guests and restaurant diners go inside, and whether you will see the curved alcove post upstairs depends on the room or table you are given, so ask the hotel when booking if it matters to you. Directions and restaurant hours are on the Eirakukan page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Eirakukan East Building
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Q&A
- When was the Eirakukan East Building built and registered?
- The national database dates it to 1873, with a renovation in 1994. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 25, 2014, under number 24-0174.
- How is the Eirakukan East Building laid out?
- It is a 2-storey timber building with two reception rooms facing the courtyard on the ground floor and a single large hall upstairs. A veranda runs along the west and north sides.
- What is the highlight of the Eirakukan East Building?
- The alcove post in the upstairs hall, made from a curved log left in its natural shape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the hall as sukiya in style.
- Does the Eirakukan East Building look onto the garden?
- Yes. Its west and north verandas look out on the garden through glazed windows, and the ground-floor rooms face the courtyard.
- Can I go inside the Eirakukan East Building?
- There is no public opening. It is part of the hotel's KANMURI wing, used by hotel guests and restaurant diners, and the hotel does not specify which rooms or tables are in this building.
Basic Information
| Name | Eirakukan East Building (栄楽館東棟) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2842 Ueno Aioicho, Iga City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered April 25, 2014 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 109 square meters |
| Owner | Iga City |
| Public Access | In use as hotel facilities; not open to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Eirakukan East Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009984
- Iga City: List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.iga.lg.jp/cmsfiles/contents/0000003/3870/kunitouroku.pdf
- NIPPONIA HOTEL Iga Ueno Jokamachi official site: KANMURI
- https://www.kazenoheritage.jp/hotels/iga-ueno/rooms/kanmuri/
Last verified: 2026.10.10
