What the Main House Is
Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House is an Edo-period dwelling in Imai, Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture, built in 1772 and entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 14 October 1999.
It is a single-storey timber building with a sheet-iron roof and a footprint of 450 square metres. A projecting bay stands in front of the body of the house, and the formal entrance with its Shikidai step opens there. Both the body and the projecting bay are gabled, in Kirizuma-zukuri, and both are entered from the gable end, a plan called Tsumairi. Setting one gable end behind another like this is uncommon among the farmhouses of the district.
The date needs a note. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives the period as Meiwa 9 but puts 1876 in its western-calendar column. Meiwa 9 corresponds to 1772, while 1876 falls in the Meiji era. Since the same record assigns the building to the Edo period, this article follows the Japanese era year and gives 1772.
Why It Was Registered
Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House was listed under the criterion for works that cannot easily be recreated. Of the eleven buildings on the estate, only this house, the document storehouse and the rice storehouse were listed on that ground; the other eight were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape.
The Imai family served for generations as village headmen, and the house was used as a resting place by the lords of the Takashima domain on inspection circuits and by daimyo processions on the highway. The formal entrance with its raised step existed to receive those guests. The 450 square metres of single-storey floor make more sense as a house carrying reception rooms than as accommodation for one family.
What to Look For
Stand in front of the gate and the entrance of Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House sits squarely in the opening. The two were set on one axis, so the relationship reads clearly from the road.
Follow the ridge lines. The projecting bay in front and the body of the house behind each present a gable to the highway, so two triangles, one smaller and one larger, overlap front to back. Walk a few paces and the overlap shifts.
The house has no upper floor. With the ridge kept low, the roof planes run long and the building spreads sideways rather than upwards. The depth behind that frontage is easier to judge while walking west along the road, when the gable end and the long side come into view together.
Visiting
Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House is a private home. Neither the building nor its interior can be entered, and viewing means looking from the public road that was once the Nakasendo. The entrance is best seen from directly in front of the gate; move a little to the west and the overlapping roofs come into view. Take photographs from the road.
Do not enter the grounds. For questions about access, contact the cultural properties staff of the Lifelong Learning Division of the Okaya City Board of Education. The history of the estate as a whole and the way there are set out on the page for Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin). (Checked in September 2026.)
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Q&A
- Can the interior of Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House be visited?
- No. The house is a private residence, so viewing is limited to the exterior seen from the old Nakasendo road.
- When was Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House built?
- In 1772. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database also prints 1876 in its western-calendar column, but that figure matches neither the era year Meiwa 9 nor the Edo-period attribution in the same record.
- How large is Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House?
- It is a single-storey timber building with a sheet-iron roof and a building area of 450 square metres.
- Why is Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on 14 October 1999 under the criterion for works that cannot easily be recreated, for its scale and for the projecting formal entrance bay set in front of a gable-entered house.
- Is photography allowed at Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House?
- Photographs may be taken from the public road. Please do not enter the grounds.
Basic Information
| Name | Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 1832 Imai, Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 1999/10/14 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber structure, sheet-iron roof, building area 450 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) Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001381
- Cultural Heritage Online: Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/138651
- Shiojiri City: The Nakasendo (1)
- https://www.city.shiojiri.lg.jp/soshiki/35/3946.html
Last verified: 2026.09.15
