What Is the Fuwa Family Residence Main House?
The Fuwa Family Residence Main House (不破家住宅主屋, Fuwa-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is an 1857 townhouse on the old Nakasendō highway in Takamiya-cho, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 29 November 2016. It is a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 223 square meters.
It stands on the east side of the road and turns the gable end of its Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable roof toward the street. This Tsumairi arrangement, with the ridge running back from the road and the triangular gable forming the facade, means that the first thing a walker on the old highway sees is a tall two-storey gable.
Of the four registered structures on the estate, the Fuwa Family Residence Main House is the core. The gate and wall stand in front of its entrance; the storehouse and the high wall lie behind it.
Why It Was Registered
The Fuwa Family Residence Main House was registered under number 25-0380 as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country, in the 85th round of registrations on 29 November 2016.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to the quality of its timber and the refinement of the decorative fittings in its formal rooms, and calls it a large, solidly built house that reflects the prosperity of Takamiya-juku. A late-Edo townhouse of this size still facing the street as built is what gives it value in the post-town streetscape.
A Through Passage and Eight Rooms
Inside, the Fuwa Family Residence Main House follows the classic townhouse plan. A broad earth-floored Doma runs from the front to the back along the right side, and to its left the living rooms are laid out in two rows of four, eight rooms in all.
A through passage of this kind let people walk in their footwear from the street entrance to the back garden and storehouse without stepping up onto the raised floors. What the Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out here is its generous width.
The formal rooms are fitted with Zashiki-kazari, the alcove and shelving arrangements of a Japanese reception room, and these are described as finely made.
What to Look For Outside
The exterior walls of the Fuwa Family Residence Main House are fully plastered, and the lines of the posts are modeled in relief on the plaster surface rather than left as exposed timber. The result keeps the fire resistance of a sealed plaster wall while still showing the rhythm of a timber frame.
The front openings carry Degōshi, lattices that project from the wall face. From the road they read as a row of slender vertical bars.
The best view is from the opposite side of the street, a few steps back. From there the hip-and-gable roof, the height of the two-storey gable and the ground-floor lattice fit into one frame.
Visiting the Fuwa Family Residence Main House
The Fuwa Family Residence Main House is a private home and the interior is not open. We found no announced opening of the passage, the rooms or the reception-room fittings.
The exterior can be seen from the old Nakasendō. The gable facade and the lattices face the street, so viewing is from the public road without entering the property. If you take photographs, stay off the grounds and keep in mind that this is a residence.
Q&A
- When was the Fuwa Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1857, according to the national database. The storehouse on the same estate dates from 1853, four years earlier.
- When did the Fuwa Family Residence Main House become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 29 November 2016, as registration number 25-0380, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- What is the floor plan of the Fuwa Family Residence Main House?
- A broad earth-floored passage runs front to back on the right, with eight rooms arranged in two rows of four on the left.
- Can I go inside the Fuwa Family Residence Main House?
- No. It is a private home and the interior is closed, but the exterior can be seen from the public road along the old Nakasendō.
- How do I get to the Fuwa Family Residence Main House?
- It is roughly a 7-minute walk southwest of Takamiya Station on the Ohmi Railway, which is three stops from JR Hikone Station on the Main Line.
Basic Information
| Name | Fuwa Family Residence Main House (不破家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2351 Takamiya-cho, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), No. 25-0380 |
| Year Designated | Registered 29 November 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 223 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Closed to the public (exterior visible from the old Nakasendō) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Fuwa Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011331
- Cultural Heritage Online: Fuwa Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/243948
- Fuwa Family Residence Main House (Hikone Tourist Association, in Japanese)
- https://www.hikoneshi.com/sightseeing/article/fuwake-jutaku-shuoku
- Nakasendo Takamiya Post Town (Hikone City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.hikone.lg.jp/kakuka/kanko_bunka/2/5/2325.html
Last verified: 2026.09.28
