Hayashi Family Residence (Higashiawakura Village, Aida District, Okayama Prefecture)

A Village Headman's Homestead from 1786

The Hayashi Family Residence (林家住宅, Hayashi-ke Jūtaku) in Nakatani, Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture, is a late Edo-period farmhouse compound whose main house dates to 1786; its four buildings were designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1969.

The official designation name is Hayashi Family Residence (Higashiawakura Village, Aida District, Okayama Prefecture). The words in parentheses record the address at the time of designation. Higashi-Awakura Village has since become part of Mimasaka City, and the house stands in the small hamlet of Nakatani, in hill country where Okayama meets Hyōgo and Tottori prefectures. Mount Ushiroyama, the highest peak in Okayama, rises to the north, terraced fields step down its southern foot, and winter here can bring snow and icy roads.

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Hayashi family descended from samurai, settled in the area during the Edo period and later served as Shōya, or village headmen. A case study published by the Japan Tourism Agency adds that the family also directed the gathering of iron sand in the surrounding district.

The compound occupies roughly 1,000 tsubo (about 3,300 square meters) of gently sloping ground shaped with stone terracing. The main house sits at the center, with a gatehouse and two storehouses around it, so the Hayashi Family Residence still shows how an upper-tier farming household arranged its property, not just how it built a single house.

Why the Hayashi Family Residence Was Designated

The Hayashi Family Residence was designated an Important Cultural Property on June 20, 1969. Two things carried the case: the buildings were well preserved, and a document survived that shows what the house looked like when it was new.

That document is the ita-ezu, a plan of the homestead drawn on a wooden board. It fixes the construction of the main house in 1786 and records the original floor plan, room by room. The board itself, one piece, is included in the designation as an attached item.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Hayashi house as a relatively late farmhouse, yet one that matters for understanding vernacular houses in Okayama precisely because it is so well kept and comes with a plan of its original layout. The Japan Tourism Agency case study calls it a representative of the more developed farmhouse type found in the prefecture.

For a traditional Japanese farmhouse, having both a firm construction date and a contemporary plan is uncommon. Many surviving examples can only be dated by their style.

The Four Buildings: Thatched House, Long Gate and Two Storehouses

Main House

The main house of the Hayashi Family Residence measures 28.3 meters across the front and 13.0 meters deep, under a thatched (Kayabuki) roof in the hip-and-gable Irimoya-zukuri form, with a lean-to eave along the north side. It is by far the largest of the four buildings.

The Japan Tourism Agency notes that the main house has been altered many times, with a major remodeling thought to date from around the early Meiji era (late nineteenth century). Recent work was carried out as a partial repair without dismantling, and the aim was to keep the house as it stands today rather than return it to its 1786 state.

Nagayamon Gate

The Nagayamon, a gatehouse with rooms built into its length, dates to around 1786. The national database lists it at 25.2 meters by 6.0 meters (the Cultural Heritage Online portal gives 25.1 meters by 5.9 meters). Like the main house it has a thatched irimoya roof, and its long, low mass closes off the front of the compound.

Stand where the gate's thatch overlaps the larger roof of the main house behind it and the layout of a headman's homestead makes immediate sense.

Rice Storehouse and Clothing Storehouse

Both storehouses date to the late eighteenth century. Each is a two-storied building in the thick-walled Dozo-zukuri manner with a simple gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) roof. The rice storehouse measures 9.3 by 6.2 meters and the clothing storehouse 8.5 by 4.5 meters.

Look at the roofs. The rice storehouse, despite its earthen fireproof walls, is thatched, while the clothing storehouse is covered in pantiles (Sangawara-buki). Two storehouses of the same period in the same compound, roofed in different materials: it is a contrast you can only appreciate on site at the Hayashi Family Residence.

Conservation and New Use at the Hayashi House

The Hayashi Family Residence is privately owned, and before its recent restoration it had not been adequately maintained. A general incorporated association, HERITA (Sōzō Isan Kikō), now holds a 10-year fixed-term lease from the owner and carries out the conservation work and day-to-day management.

A conservation and utilization plan set out how each building would be protected: the gatehouse and both storehouses in their entirety, and the main house zone by zone. Because the nearest fire station is 20 minutes away, water cannons and a storage tank were installed to stop fire spreading, and the structure was reinforced after a seismic assessment. The work was completed in 2022.

Each building now has its own role. The main house is used for public opening and events, the gate houses the reception desk and shower rooms, and the rice storehouse has been fitted out for overnight guests, with new plumbing built as a freestanding insert that leaves the historic fabric untouched. The clothing storehouse still holds the owner's belongings and is not used for visitors. The Japan Tourism Agency presents the Hayashi Family Residence as the first case in Japan of a farmhouse designated an Important Cultural Property being adapted for overnight stays.

Visiting the Hayashi Family Residence

The Hayashi Family Residence opens to the public from the 1st to the 7th of every month, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It is closed from the 8th onward, so plan your trip around that first week. On open days, coffee and Japanese sweets are served for a charge.

Admission information varies by source. The Okayama prefectural tourism site lists entry as free, while the Japan Tourism Agency case study describes a planned admission of 1,000 yen including tea and sweets. It is worth checking with the Mimasaka City Board of Education, Social Education Division (0868-72-2900), before you go.

The rice storehouse is used for overnight guests and the clothing storehouse for the owner's storage, so neither interior is open even on public days. Published sources say nothing about photography; ask on arrival.

By public transport, take the Chizu Express Chizu Line to Ōhara Station, then the Mimasaka City Higashi-Awakura bus for about 20 minutes to the Hayashi-ke Jūtaku stop. Check the city's timetable in advance. A taxi from Ōhara Station takes about 15 minutes. By car, allow 20 to 30 minutes from the Ōhara Interchange on the Tottori Expressway, and in winter expect snow and ice on the mountain roads.