The Main House of the Kumeya Wakihonjin
The Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House (旧小諸脇本陣主屋) is the main house of a post-town wakihonjin of the late Edo period in Ichimachi, Komoro City, Nagano Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on April 3, 2020 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 275 square metres; registration number 20-0560.
It is the main house of Kumeya, the inn held to have served as the wakihonjin of Komoro-juku, and it faces south onto the Hokkoku Kaido (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Agency dates it to the late Edo period and records a renovation in 2019. Today it is the main building of Wakihonjin no Yado Kumeya: the street-side earthen hall serves as a tea room and the upper floor holds guest rooms (Kumeya).
Three Doors onto the Street
The Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House has a gabled roof of pantiles with its eaves toward the street (Hirairi); a separate corridor and the wash and kitchen areas are attached at the back (Agency for Cultural Affairs). On the front, a Shikidai formal entrance under a large gabled roof projects on the west side of the ground floor, and the east side of the upper floor is an open gallery with a handrail.
Kumeya counts three ways in from the street. The shikidai entrance leads along a tatami corridor to a pair of raised rooms at the back; a second door, under a small roofed signboard, opens onto the earthen floor and a boarded corridor; and wide sliding doors give onto the large earthen hall. The plan shows that guests came in by different doors, and were shown to different rooms, according to their rank.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered the main house for its contribution to the historic landscape, noting that together with the honjin it recalls the look of an early modern post town. The low eaves, the broad tiled roof and the row of entrances of differing rank keep the street front of a post-town inn (Kumeya).
What to Look For
Look at the front from the street. Beneath the low eaves runs a line of upper-floor windows set on projecting beams with a railing, and in the evening, with the rooms lit, the house looks very much like an old post-town inn (Kumeya). Compare the large gable over the shikidai on the west with the small roof over the signboard.
Inside the earthen hall, the back rises open to the roof, so you can look up at the roof framing and the blackened beams that carry the great roof. A red cylindrical postbox stands under the eaves outside. Behind the house lies a courtyard, and the Kashiwa and Sumire guest rooms upstairs are said to be the only rooms that look down on it.
Visiting
The street-side earthen hall of the Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House opens as the Chaya Kumeya tea room from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and anyone may come in (Kumeya). It is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and for the winter from December 1 to the end of February. The two six-mat rooms reached from the shikidai entrance can be booked as rental rooms; one has a sunken hearth and is used for tea gatherings. The upstairs guest rooms are for overnight guests only. Kumeya publishes no rule on photography, so ask the staff before taking pictures indoors.
Q&A
- When was the Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period; it was renovated in 2019.
- Can I go inside the Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House?
- Yes. The earthen hall opens as the Chaya Kumeya tea room from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and in winter). The upstairs guest rooms are for overnight guests only (Kumeya).
- What should I look for at the Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House?
- The gabled shikidai entrance on the west, the railed gallery upstairs and the roof framing above the earthen hall.
- How do I get to the Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House?
- It is about a five-minute walk from Komoro Station (Kumeya).
- When was the Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House registered?
- On April 3, 2020 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House (旧小諸脇本陣主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-18 Ichimachi, Komoro City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2020/04/03 (Reiwa 2) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber, tiled roof, 275 m² |
| Owner | Komoro City |
| Public Access | Earthen hall tea room open in business hours; guest rooms for overnight guests only |
References
- Former Komoro Wakihonjin Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013249
- History of Kumeya (Wakihonjin no Yado Kumeya, Japanese)
- https://www.kumeya.com/story/
- Chaya Kumeya tea room (Wakihonjin no Yado Kumeya, Japanese)
- https://www.kumeya.com/cafe/
- Rental Space (Wakihonjin no Yado Kumeya, Japanese)
- https://www.kumeya.com/rental/
Last verified: 2026.10.20
