What Is the Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House?
The Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House (旧平林家住宅（一星亭）主屋, Kyū Hirabayashi-ke Jūtaku Ichiboshi-tei Shuoku) is a two-storey timber farmhouse of the late Edo period in Ikusaka Village, Higashichikuma District, Nagano Prefecture, extended in the early Meiji period and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 5 December 2019. It has a tiled roof and a building area of 354 square meters.
It stands in the middle of its plot along the old road, facing south. Of the six registered buildings on the estate, this one alone covers roughly three times the combined area of the three storehouses.
The national database dates the house to the late Edo period, which it defines here as 1751 to 1830. It does not record an exact year from a ridge tablet or any other document.
A Farmhouse Built Around Tobacco
The Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House was registered as No. 20-0554 for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a large farmhouse that keeps the traces of the tobacco growing once widespread in this district.
Three features carry those traces. The space above the earth-floored Doma was made into a broad workroom. The east gable end is cut upward in the manner of a kabuto (helmet-shaped) roof. And a long Koshi-yane, a raised ventilating roof, runs along the ridge.
Ikusaka once produced leaf tobacco known locally as Ikusaka tabako. A village profile published by the B&G Foundation notes that the house still has the room where the leaves were dried. The lifted gable and the ridge ventilator are, in effect, the roof built over that workroom, letting air into the upper floor.
Staggered Rooms and a Reception Room
The living quarters of the Ichiboshi-tei main house are laid out as three rows of raised-floor rooms. The Agency calls the plan complex: several rooms are set out of line with one another, and a Zashiki reception room is placed at the kamite, the end farthest from the doma.
Work happened on the doma side, guests were received at the far end, and one roof covered both. The Agency does not explain why the rooms do not line up; the early Meiji extension to a late Edo house may be part of the story, but the sources do not say.
Visiting the Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House
The interior of the Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House is not normally open. The village Board of Education holds occasional guided viewings, including one on 2 March 2025, and these are the only chances to see the workroom and the reception room.
From outside the grounds, look at the roofline. The long ventilator along the ridge and the lifted east gable are the parts of the Hirabayashi main house that show, from the road, that it once held a tobacco workroom. Please view the house from the public road and do not enter the property.
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Q&A
- When was the Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House built?
- In the late Edo period, between 1751 and 1830 according to the national database, and it was extended in the early Meiji period.
- Why is the Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It is a large farmhouse that preserves traces of local tobacco growing: a broad workroom above the doma, a lifted east gable and a long ventilator along the ridge. It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- How big is the Ichiboshi-tei main house?
- It is a two-storey timber building with a building area of 354 square meters, the largest of the six registered buildings on the estate.
- What is unusual about the floor plan of the Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House?
- Its raised-floor rooms form three rows, with several rooms set out of line with one another, and the reception room sits at the end farthest from the doma.
- Can I go inside the Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House?
- Not normally. The Ikusaka Board of Education holds occasional guided viewings, one of them on 2 March 2025. Check the village newsletter for upcoming dates.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House (旧平林家住宅（一星亭）主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 5497 Ikusaka Village, Higashichikuma District, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), No. 20-0554 |
| Year Designated | Registered 5 December 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 354 square meters |
| Owner | Ikusaka Village |
| Public Access | Not normally open (occasional guided viewings by the village Board of Education) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Hirabayashi Family Residence (Ichiboshi-tei) Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013109
- Cultural Heritage Online: Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/380357
- Kato Masaharu, legal scholar (B&G Foundation biography manga page, with a note on the house, in Japanese)
- https://www.bgf.or.jp/bgmanga/109/
- Koho Ikusaka, February 2025 issue (notice of the Ichiboshi-tei viewing, PDF, in Japanese)
- https://www.village.ikusaka.nagano.jp/gyousei/kouhou/pdf/2025.02.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.28
