Takazawa Family Residence Main House: A Silk-Farming Home on Two Floors
The Takazawa Family Residence Main House (高澤家住宅主屋, Takazawa-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is the principal dwelling of the Takazawa estate in Nagano, Gyoda City, Saitama Prefecture, a two-story timber farmhouse built for silkworm rearing in the late Edo period (1830-1867) and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.
It stands a little north of the center of the compound and faces south. The building measures 11 ken along the ridge and 6.5 ken deep, a ken being the standard bay of Japanese carpentry at roughly six feet, under a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles. At 303 square meters of building area, the Takazawa Main House is the largest of the five registered buildings on the estate, and it was extended in both the Meiji and Shōwa eras.
Why the Takazawa Main House Was Registered
The Takazawa Family Residence Main House was registered as a model of form, one of the criteria for Japan's registration system. It is the only one of the five Takazawa buildings listed on that ground; the other four were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape.
What the Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out is a shape organized around silk. On the ground floor, an earth-floored passage, the Doma, runs straight through from front to back. Wood-floored space lies to its east and six tatami rooms to its west. The whole upper floor was a silkworm-rearing room, and above it the roof carries a raised ventilating ridge called a koshi-yane, with high windows cut into both gable ends. The agency points to that raised ridge and those gable windows as hallmarks of a sericulture farmhouse.
Gyoda City makes the same point, noting the upper-floor rearing room and its windows for air and light. Family life and the receiving of guests happened downstairs; the silkworms lived upstairs, all under one roof.
Sources differ on the date. The agency's register gives the late Edo period, Gyoda City says the latter part of the Edo period, and the Takazawa Memorial Hall suggests the mid to late Edo period. This article follows the national register.
What to Look For
Step through the nagayamon gate and the long south face of the Takazawa Main House fills the view. Raise your eyes to the roof and you will see a second, smaller roof riding on top of the main ridge. That is the koshi-yane, built to let heat and humidity escape from the rearing room below.
Then look at the triangular gable walls at the east and west ends. Windows sit high up at second-floor level, where an ordinary house would have blank wall. They are there because the entire upper story was given over to silkworms.
Standing in front of it, you also feel the length of 11 ken. The ground floor, the wall of the upper story above it, and the raised ridge on top give the house three distinct layers, which is what separates it from a single-story farmhouse.
Visiting the Takazawa Family Residence Main House
Of the five Takazawa buildings, the Takazawa Family Residence Main House is the only one you can enter. According to the Takazawa Memorial Hall website, as of September 2026 part of the house opens as a café and gallery on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with dyed textiles, ceramics and metalwork on display and for sale. Only part of the house is open, hours vary with the season, and there are summer and New Year closures.
For a view that takes in both the raised ridge and the full south face, stand just inside the gate and look up. No photography policy is posted on the website, so ask the staff before taking pictures indoors.
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Q&A
- When was the Takazawa Family Residence Main House built?
- The national register dates it to the late Edo period (1830-1867), with extensions in the Meiji and Shōwa eras. Gyoda City and the Takazawa Memorial Hall give somewhat earlier ranges within the Edo period.
- Can I go inside the Takazawa Family Residence Main House?
- Yes, in part. As of September 2026, part of the house opens as the Takazawa Memorial Hall café and gallery on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Hours vary by season and there are summer and New Year closures, so check the website first.
- What was the upper floor of the Takazawa Family Residence Main House used for?
- It was a silkworm-rearing room. The raised ventilating ridge on the roof and the high windows in both gable ends brought air and light into that room.
- Why is the Takazawa Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered as a model of form, because its raised ridge, gable windows and layout clearly show the features of a sericulture farmhouse. It is the only Takazawa building registered on that criterion.
- How big is the Takazawa Family Residence Main House?
- It is a two-story timber building 11 ken long and 6.5 ken deep, with a building area of 303 square meters, the largest of the five Takazawa buildings.
Basic Information
| Name | Takazawa Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-5-41 Nagano, Gyoda City, Saitama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered May 15, 2007 (54th round, registration no. 11-0102) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 303 square meters; 11 by 6.5 ken |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Partly open (part of the house opens as a café and gallery on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Takazawa Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005796
- Cultural Heritage Online: Takazawa Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/118674
- Gyoda City: Takazawa Family Residence (Main House and Four Other Buildings)
- https://www.city.gyoda.lg.jp/soshiki/shougaigakusyubu/bunkazaihogo/gyomu/rekishi_bunkazai/1/2323.html
- Takazawa Memorial Hall official website
- https://takazawakan.jimdofree.com/
Last verified: 2026.09.26
