A Physician's House of 1854
The Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House (所沢郷土美術館主屋) is the house of a family of doctors of 1854 in Kume, Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on February 9, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber house roofed in copper sheet, with a building area of 184 square metres; registration number 11-0086.
Today the Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House serves as the gallery of the private museum (Tokorozawa City).
A Late Edo Country House
The Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House runs north to south toward the west of the plot and faces east, under an irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable roof covered in copper sheet (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Agency counts it among the few houses of the Edo period still standing in Tokorozawa.
Tokorozawa City credits the house to Hiratsuka Sojun Kiyonobu, the eleventh head of the family. A building ledger survives, and from it the Agency knows the master carpenter: Shinzaemon, a carpenter of Uchikoshi village. The year, the owner who built it and the carpenter are all on record.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency singles out the reception rooms that lead from the Shikidai entrance, a raised boarded step for receiving guests, to the inner room. Their design reflects the rank of a family that served the Matsudaira lords of Kawagoe as physicians, and the house was registered as a model of design.
Tokorozawa City calls the Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House a valuable survival of an Edo-period house, and, with the gate and storehouse, the first property in the city to be registered.
What to Look For
Look first at the shikidai entrance on the east front, a formal entrance with a raised boarded step for receiving guests. From there the reception rooms run back to the inner room, the sequence the Agency reads as a mark of the family's standing.
Outside, stand on the east side to see the copper-clad hip-and-gable roof. Coming in through the gatehouse, you face the house directly across the plot.
Visiting
Unlike the gate and storehouse, the Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House can be seen from the inside. It is used as the museum's gallery, so on opening days you can walk through the rooms behind the shikidai entrance while viewing paintings, sculpture, calligraphy and crafts by local artists (Tokorozawa City).
The city's regional plan for cultural properties of March 2026 still describes the house as open to the public as a private museum. No official guidance on photography inside was found, so ask at the entrance.
Q&A
- When was the Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House built?
- In 1854 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Who built the Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House?
- Tokorozawa City credits Hiratsuka Sojun Kiyonobu, the eleventh head of the family; the master carpenter was Shinzaemon of Uchikoshi village.
- Can I go inside the Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House?
- Yes. It is the museum's gallery and is open on museum days (Tokorozawa City).
- What should I look for in the Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House?
- The shikidai entrance and the reception rooms behind it, which reflect a family of daimyo physicians.
- When was the Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House registered?
- On February 9, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House (所沢郷土美術館主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1447-1 Kume, Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/02/09 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, copper-sheet roof, 184 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | Open inside as a private art museum on museum days (free) |
References
- Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004523
- Tokorozawa Local Art Museum Main House, Nagayamon Gate and Storehouse (Tokorozawa City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.tokorozawa.saitama.jp/iitokoro/enjoy/bunkakyoyo/bunkazai/kunitourokubunkazai/kyodobijyutukan.html
- Tokorozawa City Regional Plan for Cultural Properties, Chapter 2 (Tokorozawa City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.tokorozawa.saitama.jp/iitokoro/enjoy/bunkakyoyo/bunkazai/bunkazai_keikaku.files/keikaku_2shou.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.28
