What Is the Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House?
The Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House (旧石橋家住宅西主屋, Kyū Ishibashi-ke Jūtaku Nishi-shuoku) is a late Edo-period townhouse built between 1830 and 1868 in Serimachi, Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2013. It is a small timber house of 75 square metres, recorded as single-storey, with a tiled roof.
By the national record it is the oldest of the eleven registered structures in the Ishibashi compound. It stands at the western end of the three main houses on the street and is joined on its east side to the Middle Main House. The Hikone Film Commission describes this western block as a row-house (nagaya) type building.
Why It Was Registered: The Look of an Edo Castle-Town House
The Agency for Cultural Affairs presents the Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House as a townhouse that preserves the character of Hikone's castle town in the Edo period. It was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the nation.
Although classed as single-storey, it has the outward form of a Tsushi-nikai, a low-ceilinged half storey tucked under the roof. The walls are finished in an intermediate coat of plaster right up into the eaves, a slatted mushiko window opens at the centre of the upper wall, and a small firewall wing, or sode-udatsu (Udatsu), rises at the west end of the gabled pantile roof. Hikone City names exactly these three features, the tsushi-nikai, the mushiko window and the sode-udatsu, as hallmarks of the townhouses between Serimachi and Kawaramachi, a street selected in 2016 as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. The West Main House has all three.
What to Notice: Low Eaves and a Single Central Window
The first thing you notice is how low the house sits. Next door, the Middle Main House shows a tall upper storey sealed in white plaster; the West Main House is lower, and its walls stop at the intermediate plaster coat. Two houses of the same family, built in different eras, differ plainly in height and finish.
The mushiko window is placed squarely in the middle of the upper wall. With broad plain plaster on either side, the facade has a quiet, restrained look.
Inside, according to the national record, an earth-floored passage (Toriniwa) runs down the centre of the house, with one row of rooms on each side. That is the opposite of the Middle Main House, which pushes its passage to one side, and it lets a narrow building divide its width evenly.
Seeing the Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House
The interior of the Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House is not open to the public, but the low eaves, the central mushiko window and the firewall wing are all visible from the street. Because the wing sits at the west end, stepping a little to the west and looking back at an angle shows its outline most clearly.
Looking at the West Main House alongside the upper storey of the Middle Main House is the easiest way to compare a late Edo townhouse with an early Meiji one. Directions and viewing conditions for the whole compound are on the Former Ishibashi Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- How old is the Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House?
- It dates from the late Edo period, between 1830 and 1868, making it the oldest of the compound's eleven registered structures. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 21, 2013.
- What is a tsushi-nikai, as seen at the Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House?
- A low half storey under the roof. The West Main House is officially classed as single-storey, yet from outside it has this tsushi-nikai form.
- Can I go inside the Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House?
- No. The interior is closed; the exterior can be viewed from the street.
- How is the Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House different from the Middle Main House?
- It is lower, finished in intermediate plaster rather than white plaster, and has a mushiko window upstairs. Inside, its passage runs down the centre, while the Middle Main House places a wide passage on the west side.
- Where is the best spot to see the firewall wing of the Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House?
- The wing is at the west end of the house. Stand slightly west of the building on the street and look back at an angle.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House (旧石橋家住宅西主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 11-1 Serimachi, Hikone, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2013 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, tiled roof, building area 75 square metres |
| Owner | Hikone City |
| Public Access | Exterior only (interior not open to the public) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009629
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Ishibashi Family Residence West Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/240245
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Ishibashi Family Residence Middle Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009628
- Hikone City: Hikone Kawaramachi-Serimachi Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.hikone.lg.jp/kanko/rekishi/9/2/7714.html
- Hikone Film Commission: Former Ishibashi Family Residence
- https://www.city.hikone.lg.jp/kakuka/kanko_bunka/5/hikonefilmcomission/roke-syonsyokai/yashiki_juukyo/26545.html
- Hikone Tourism Association: Former Ishibashi Family Residence Middle Main House
- https://www.hikoneshi.com/sightseeing/article/kyu-ishibashike-jutaku-nakashuoku
Last verified: 2026.09.25
