What the Well Is
Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well sits against the east side of the main house at Imai in Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture, dates from the later Edo period, roughly 1751 to 1829, and became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 14 October 1999.
The shaft is lined with stacked stone and runs about 6 metres deep. Its registered footprint of 0.74 square metres is the smallest of the eleven buildings on the estate. When it was dug is not recorded, but it is thought to belong to the same campaign as the present main house, which dates from 1772.
A canopy stands over the well head, a structure known as an idoyakata, and this part was built around the Taisho era. Its west face, towards the main house, carries a plank door; the other three sides are boarded.
Why It Was Registered
Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well was listed as contributing to the historic landscape. Wells rarely enter the national register on their own, and it did so here because the estate was assessed as a single working whole, water supply included.
A house on the highway that served travellers needed water to make tea. Placing the well immediately east of the main house put it as close to the kitchen as the plan allowed. The position of the well is the duty of the household written into the layout.
What to Look For
Note the gap in date between the shaft and its cover. The stone-lined well goes back to the later Edo period, while the canopy above it was raised around the Taisho era, more than a century later. One registration holds two periods.
Look at how the canopy opens. Only the west face, the one turned towards the house, has a door; the other three sides are closed with boards. The path to the water ran to the house alone, and wind and rain came from everywhere else.
Hold onto the figure of 6 metres. Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well served a household on high ground at Imai, and that depth is a plain measure of what drawing the day's water cost.
Visiting
Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well stands immediately east of the main house. From the old Nakasendo it lies beside the house, but the canopy is small and the gate and house largely block the view from the road.
The estate is a private residence and the grounds cannot be entered, so the shaft cannot be looked into. Photograph from the road. For questions about access, contact the cultural properties staff of the Okaya City Board of Education. (Checked in September 2026.)
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Q&A
- Where is Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well?
- Immediately east of the main house, the shortest carry from the water to the kitchen.
- How deep is Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well?
- About 6 metres, lined with stacked stone. Its footprint of 0.74 square metres is the smallest registration on the estate.
- When was Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well dug?
- The date is not recorded, but it is thought to date from the same period as the present main house of 1772.
- How old is the canopy over Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well?
- The canopy, called an idoyakata, was built around the Taisho era, with a plank door on its west face and boarding on the other three sides.
- Can Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well be seen by visitors?
- The grounds are private and cannot be entered. The canopy is small and largely hidden from the road by the gate and the main house.
Basic Information
| Name | Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well |
|---|---|
| Location | 1832 Imai, Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 1999/10/14 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Stone-lined shaft 6 metres deep with a timber canopy, footprint 0.74 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior only, from the old Nakasendo road) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001390
- Cultural Heritage Online: Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Well
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/186120
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001381
Last verified: 2026.09.15
