The Annex Known as the Imperial Seat
The Tsuchiyama Family Residence (Tsuchiyama-shuku Honjin Site) Annex (土山家住宅（土山宿本陣跡）離れ, Tsuchiyama-ke Jūtaku Hanare) is a single-storey suite of formal rooms from the late Meiji era (1898 to 1912) at the back of the former honjin in Kitatsuchiyama, Tsuchiyama-cho, Koka City, Shiga Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 27 February 2023.
The family has long called it the Gyokuza, the imperial seat. It stands behind the north side of the main house across a garden, with a tiled roof and a building area of 108 square metres, and the national record notes alterations in the late Taisho era and the mid-Showa period.
An Emperor's Stay and a Later Building
In 1868 the young Emperor Meiji, travelling from Kyoto to Tokyo, spent a night at the Tsuchiyama honjin. Koka City says the family has treated the annex where he rested as the most important part of the house and has worked, generation after generation, to keep the atmosphere of that visit.
There is a wrinkle. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the present Tsuchiyama Family Residence Annex to the late Meiji era, some decades after the imperial visit. The simplest reading is that the building was put up to carry forward the form and standing of the room the emperor used, rather than being that room itself. No published source explains when or why it was rebuilt.
The agency's summary is that the annex preserves the form of a honjin's detached reception wing. It was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape.
What to Look For: The Raised Room
The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable with Sangawara-buki pantiles. A toilet is attached at the northwest corner, and a covered corridor leaves the southeast corner for the main house.
Inside are four rooms arranged two by two. Verandas run along both the north and south sides, so one face looks back toward the main house and the other toward the garden at the rear of the lot.
The room to watch is the one in the northwest corner. Its floor is set a step higher than the others and a broad alcove fills its west side, making it a Jōdan-no-ma, the raised room in which a guest of the highest rank was received. In a honjin, that small difference in floor level told everyone present where power sat. Putting the room in the far corner, the point most removed from the corridor and the service areas, reinforces the message.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs database publishes one exterior and one interior photograph, a useful preview before a visit.
Seeing the Annex
The Tsuchiyama Family Residence Annex sits behind the main house and cannot be seen from the old Tokaido. The only way in is a booked interior visit, during which the family has also displayed documents and furnishings handed down from the honjin days.
In 2023, the year of registration, the annex was under repair, and a public tour of the work in progress was held in October. Ask when booking which rooms are currently shown and whether photography is allowed. Booking details and transport are on the page for the Tsuchiyama Family Residence as a whole.
Q&A
- Why is the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Annex called the imperial seat?
- Emperor Meiji rested in the annex of the honjin in 1868, and later heads of the family kept the room's atmosphere in his memory.
- Is the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Annex the actual building Emperor Meiji stayed in?
- The national record dates the present building to the late Meiji era (1898 to 1912), after the visit. It carries on the form of the earlier room.
- What is the raised room in the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Annex?
- The northwest room has a floor set a step higher and a broad alcove on its west side, the jodan-no-ma form used to receive high-ranking guests.
- When was the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Annex registered?
- On 27 February 2023, together with the main house and the two storehouses.
- Can visitors see the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Annex?
- Only on a booked interior visit, as it is hidden behind the main house. Ask about photography when you book.
Basic Information
| Name | Tsuchiyama Family Residence (Tsuchiyama-shuku Honjin Site) Annex (土山家住宅（土山宿本陣跡）離れ) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1628 and others, Aza Harinokihara, Kitatsuchiyama, Tsuchiyama-cho, Koka City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2023/2/27 (Reiwa 5) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey wooden building, tiled roof, building area 108 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Open by reservation (not visible from the street) |
References
- 土山家住宅（土山宿本陣跡）離れ (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014489
- 土山家住宅（土山宿本陣跡）離れ (Cultural Heritage Online)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/592823
- 土山家住宅（土山宿本陣跡）国の登録有形文化財に (Koka City, Historical and Cultural Properties Division)
- https://www.city.koka.lg.jp/21838.htm
- 土山宿本陣跡 修理工事現場大公開 見学ツアー (Koka City Community Revitalization Cooperators, SMOUT)
- https://smout.jp/plans/13518
Last verified: 2026.09.29
