Hirabayashi Family Residence Main House

A prosperous farmer's house in Sasaga, Matsumoto

The Hirabayashi Family Residence Main House (平林家住宅主屋, Hirabayashi-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) in Sasaga, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, is an early Meiji-period farmhouse registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 10, 2018 (number 20-524). It is a Honmune-zukuri house, the broad gabled type of the Matsumoto area, standing in farmland on the edge of the city, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs regards it as typical of the homes of the region's wealthier farmers.

The timber house has 2 storeys under a metal-sheet roof and a building area of 230 m². Its wide gable faces the front, with the entrance on the gable end in the Tsumairi manner. It was renovated in the mid-Showa period.

Two other houses in Nagano Prefecture carry the identical registered name, one in Hirooka Harashinden, Shiojiri, and one in Omachi. They belong to different families and are separate registrations.

Dating the house

The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Hirabayashi Family Residence Main House to the early Meiji period, 1868 to 1882. Matsumoto City, working from a kaso-zu, a house plan drawn up to judge the auspiciousness of its layout, infers that it was built before 1882, and notes that despite several renovations the arrangement of the rooms is almost unchanged.

The city's own heritage page, however, gives the period as Edo, so the two official records differ. Either way, the present plan was in place by 1882.

Earth floor, three pairs of rooms and a formal entrance

Seen from the front, the earth-floored Doma lies to the right and the raised living area to the left, laid out as two rows of three rooms. At the front, a Zashiki reception room with a Shikidai formal entrance sits beside an upper reception room for guests; behind them are the family's private rooms. Public front and private back are clearly separated.

Outside, look for the suzume-odori ridge ornament perched above the bargeboards and the projecting lattice windows, Degōshi, on the front. The Agency cited this well-developed facade in registering the Hirabayashi Family Residence Main House as a model of form.

Visiting and getting there

The Hirabayashi Family Residence Main House is a private home, and as of October 2026 there is no public opening on record. The grounds and interior cannot be visited, and only what can be seen from the road is open to view. Keep stops short and be considerate of the residents and neighbours if taking photographs.

The nearest station is Hirata on the JR Shinonoi Line, about 2 kilometres east of the house in a straight line. There is no visitor parking.