A late-Edo merchant house on the old Izumo highway
Joto Mukashi Machiya (Former Kajimura Family Residence) Main House is a late Edo-period merchant townhouse at 40 Higashi-Shinmachi in Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture, entered on the national register of tangible cultural properties on May 7, 1997. It is the oldest of the eight registered buildings on the Kajimura estate, and the one that gives the whole compound its name.
The frontage runs about 17 meters, the depth about 14 meters, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs records a floor area of 211 square meters. For a Machiya those are generous numbers. Street frontage was the expensive commodity in a castle town, and eight and a half bays of it says a good deal about who the Kajimura family were.
Above the tiled roof line sits a low upper storey of the Tsushi-nikai kind rather than a full second floor. The lower half of the street wall is faced in stone. The entrance is closed by a single heavy panel that lifts vertically instead of sliding sideways, a detail worth watching for if the door happens to be open.
Inside, the plan divides along its length. The Doma, an earth-floored working strip, runs down the east side; living rooms occupy the west in what the national database describes as a probable three-row arrangement. The Agency places construction between 1830 and 1867. The interior finishes, though, belong to the Taisho era (1912-1926), when the family gutted and rebuilt the rooms.
Why the Main House carries a registration
Japan keeps two separate systems for architecture, and this building belongs to the newer one. The Joto Mukashi Machiya Main House was placed on the register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 7, 1997, with the public notice following on May 29 of the same year. Its register number is 33-0006, the first of the eight Kajimura entries.
The criterion recorded against it is that the building would be difficult to reproduce. That phrasing is doing real work. A machiya of this width, with masonry to the waist and a vertically raised main door, is not something a modern carpenter can simply rebuild from a drawing; the labour, the timber sizes and the joinery habits behind it have thinned out.
Context matters here too. Higashi-Shinmachi sits inside the Joto district, a stretch of the old Izumo highway east of the Tsuyama Castle site that was selected as a Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 2013. The Main House is the largest surviving merchant frontage along that street, so its registration protects a keystone rather than an isolated curiosity.
What to look at
Start at the street. The stone facing along the base of the wall of the Joto Mukashi Machiya Main House is a practical device against damp and cart wheels, but it also gives the elevation a weight that neighbouring houses do not have. Above it, the shallow upper storey keeps the roofline low and the proportions horizontal.
Then the door. A raised sliding entrance of this size needs counterweighting and a track that stays true for a century and a half.
Once past it, the contrast is the point. The frame around you is late Edo; the surfaces are Taisho. Ceilings, fittings, Ranma transoms and room divisions were all reworked during the Taisho era by a family then prospering as industrialists, and the seam between the two periods is visible if you look at where new joinery meets old posts.
The earth-floored passage is the other thing to spend time on. It is the working spine of the house, and standing in it with the rooms raised on your left is the clearest way to understand how a merchant household separated commerce from living.
Visiting
The Joto Mukashi Machiya (Former Kajimura Family Residence) Main House is closed at present. Tsuyama City, which owns the property, shut the site on June 1, 2025 for renovation work, and the announced plan is to reopen it around November 2026, partly as accommodation. Anyone travelling specifically to see it should confirm the position with the city before setting out; the number listed for the site is 0868-22-5791.
Before the closure the house opened from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with last admission at 4:30 p.m., and entry was free. It closed on Tuesdays, moving to the following day when a Tuesday fell on a public holiday, and over the New Year period from December 29 to January 3. Whether those terms survive the renovation is not yet published.
Getting there is straightforward. From JR Tsuyama Station the walk east is about 25 minutes; by car it is roughly 10 minutes from the Tsuyama interchange on the Chugoku Expressway, and there is a visitor car park serving the Joto district. The street elevation of the Main House can be seen from the public road at any time, which is worth knowing while the interior stays shut.
Photography rules for the interior have not been published for the reopened site, so ask at reception rather than assume. Outside, the facade faces a public street and is unrestricted.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Joto Mukashi Machiya (Former Kajimura Family Residence) Main House right now?
- No. Tsuyama City closed the site on June 1, 2025 for renovation work and has announced a reopening around November 2026. The exterior remains visible from the street in the meantime.
- What were the opening hours and admission fee at the Joto Mukashi Machiya Main House?
- Until the closure the house was open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., last admission 4:30 p.m., and admission was free. It rested on Tuesdays and from December 29 to January 3. Terms after the reopening have not been announced.
- How do I reach the Joto Mukashi Machiya (Former Kajimura Family Residence) Main House from Tsuyama Station?
- Walk east for about 25 minutes along the old Izumo highway. Drivers need roughly 10 minutes from the Tsuyama interchange on the Chugoku Expressway, and the Joto district visitor car park is the place to leave a car.
- How old is the Joto Mukashi Machiya Main House, and how big is it?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the timber structure to between 1830 and 1867 and records a floor area of 211 square meters, with a frontage near 17 meters and a depth near 14 meters. The interior was rebuilt during the Taisho era (1912-1926).
- May I take photographs inside the Joto Mukashi Machiya Main House?
- No interior policy has been published for the reopened site, so check on arrival. Photographing the street front from the public road has never been restricted.
Basic Information
| Name | Joto Mukashi Machiya (Former Kajimura Family Residence) Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 40 Higashi-Shinmachi, Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on May 7, 1997 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof, floor area 211 square meters |
| Owner | Tsuyama City |
| Public Access | Closed for renovation work (since 2025); reopening planned in 2026 |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Joto Mukashi Machiya (Former Kajimura Family Residence) Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000160
- Cultural Heritage Online: Joto Mukashi Machiya (Former Kajimura Family Residence) Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/184890
- Tsuyama Machijuu Museum, Digital Experience Guide: Old Machiya Townhouse of Joto
- https://tsuyama-machijuu.jp/en/guide/joto-mukashi/
- Okayama Kanko Web: Joto Mukashi Machiya (Former Kajimura Family Residence)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_10509.html
Last verified: 2026.09.09