What the Main House Is
The Iida Family Residence Main House (飯田家住宅主屋, Iida-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a late Edo-period dwelling in the honmune-zukuri style in Toyoshina Takibe, Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, extended in the late Meiji era and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005. It carries registration number 20-0236, the lowest of the numbers issued to the estate.
It stands near the centre of the lot with its gable end facing south. The house is 10 bays wide (about 18 meters) and 8.5 bays deep and is entered on the gable side in the Tsumairi manner, under a Kirizuma-zukuri roof with tiled pent eaves on all four sides. Mostly single-storey with a partial 2-storey section, it covers 520 square meters, the largest footprint on the property.
Inside, the plan splits east and west. The western half is an earth-floored Doma; the eastern half holds the living rooms, and beyond them a separate Zashiki reception wing projects to the east. The Agency for Cultural Affairs identifies the building as the home of 飯野屋, the family's sake business.
Why It Was Registered
Like the rest of the estate, the Iida Family Residence Main House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency singles it out as a large example of the Honmune-zukuri house type of the Azumino area. Homes of this type, common in the Matsumoto basin and Azumino, sit under broad, gently pitched gable roofs and present the gable end as the formal front, the reverse of the eaves-side entrance found in much of Japan.
A 10-bay gable front is what earns the house the word large in the official description.
It also anchored everything else on the lot. The storehouses and gates added between 1859 and the early Showa era were all placed in relation to it, and the Agency's own descriptions locate the pawn storehouse, the inner gate and the garden wall by their bearing from the main house and its reception wing.
What to Look For
Start with the roof. It is sheet metal today, but it was once an ishioki-yane, a board roof held down by rows of stones. Roofs of that kind were normally built at a low pitch so the stones would stay put.
Then compare materials. The main roof is metal while the pent eaves wrapped around all four sides are tiled, so a lower band of tile runs beneath the wide gable and gives its base a firmer line.
The reception wing faces a garden to the south. The wall that encloses that garden, and the inner gate set just east of the main house's front, are registered separately; together with Shuoku they show how the formal side of the house was composed.
Viewing the Main House
The Iida Family Residence Main House is part of a private home and its interior is not open to visitors.
Because the house sits in the middle of the lot, ringed by storehouses and walls, how much of it you can see from the road depends heavily on where you stand. Limit photography to what is visible from public roads.
Directions to the estate and advice on visiting considerately are on the Iida Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Nagano
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Iida Family Residence Main House
- [ Matsumoto Castle & Kamikochi Hiking Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Iida Family Residence Main House built?
- The national register dates it to the late Edo period, with an extension in the late Meiji era.
- What is the honmune-zukuri style of the Iida Family Residence Main House?
- It is a farmhouse and village-elite house type common around Matsumoto and Azumino, with a gently pitched gable roof and the gable end treated as the front. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls this house a large example of the type.
- How big is the Iida Family Residence Main House?
- It is 10 bays wide and 8.5 bays deep, with a building area of 520 square meters, the largest of the buildings on the estate.
- What was the original roof of the Iida Family Residence Main House?
- It was a stone-weighted board roof. It is now covered in sheet metal, with tiled pent eaves on all four sides.
- Can visitors go inside the Iida Family Residence Main House?
- No. It is a private residence and the interior is closed. Even the exterior can be seen only as far as the surrounding roads allow.
Basic Information
| Name | Iida Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 604-1 Toyoshina Takibe, Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2005 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single-storey with a partial 2-storey section, sheet-metal roof, building area 520 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Within a private residence and not open to the public; exterior visible from the road |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Iida Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005168
- Cultural Heritage Online: Iida Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/140938
- Azumino City: List of Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.city.azumino.nagano.jp/site/kyoiku/10156.html
Last verified: 2026.09.22
