Forty rooms behind white walls
Forty rooms unfold behind the white plaster walls of the Itohara (糸原) house at Otani, in the mountain town of Okuizumo. Rebuilt in 1924, the main house is the largest single structure of a residence that once received the lord of Matsue as its guest.
The Itohara were tetsushi (鉄師), ironmasters who ran tatara (たたら) smelting in the iron-sand country of Okuizumo for close to three centuries. Their line reaches back some four hundred years to a samurai family that came from Bingo, in present-day Hiroshima, took up farming here, and then entered the iron trade. Under the Matsue domain they rose to tetsushi tōdori (鉄師頭取), heads of the domain's ironmasters. The present main house was raised in 1924, late in the Taishō era, on the footprint of earlier dwellings. It is a two-storey timber building with single-storey wings, roofed in tile, covering roughly 900 square metres of floor.
A design worth preserving
Registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in February 2004, the main house was recognised under the criterion for a building that serves as a model of design. Its scale is unusual for a rural house: the plan runs to some forty rooms across about 350 tsubo of built area, arranged so that formal and family quarters, service rooms and guest wings sit in a single ordered composition. The carpentry uses timber cut from the family's own mountains, and the joinery, ceilings and window glass of the Taishō period survive in place.
Inside the residence today
Part of the main house is now the café Sabō Jūgodai (茶房十五代), where a ceiling, cabinets and glazing from the 1920s remain, and tables are cut from keyaki (zelkova) grown on Itohara land. From the guest rooms the view opens onto the strolling garden begun in the late Edo period on ground once mined for iron sand. Visitors reach the residence through the Itohara Memorial Museum, open through the year apart from exhibition-change and New Year closures.
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Q&A
- What does the main house tell you about the family?
- Its size and finish reflect wealth built on tatara ironmaking; the house was grand enough to lodge the Matsue lord and to host figures such as the poet Yosano Akiko.
- When was it built?
- The present main house dates to 1924 (Taishō 13), replacing earlier dwellings on the same site.
- How many rooms are there?
- Records describe about forty rooms over roughly 350 tsubo of floor area.
- Can I go inside?
- Yes. The residence is open as part of the Itohara Memorial Museum, and one wing operates as the Sabō Jūgodai café.
- Is photography allowed?
- Photography rules follow the museum's guidance; check at reception, as some interiors and exhibits are restricted.
Basic Information
| Name | Itohara Family Residence, Main House (絲原家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | Otani, Okuizumo, Nita District, Shimane (島根県仁多郡奥出雲町大谷856-1) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registered | 17 February 2004 |
| Registration no. | 32-0018 |
| Structure | Timber, two storeys with single-storey wings; tiled roof; building area approx. 900 m² |
| Date | Taishō period, 1924 |
| Registration criterion | Model of design |
| Owner | Privately owned (individual) |
| Access | Open as part of the Itohara Memorial Museum |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs — National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003909
- Itohara Memorial Museum — official site
- https://itoharas.com/
- Okuizumo Town — tourism guide
- https://okuizumo.org/jp/guide/detail/188/
- Shimane Kankō Navi — Itohara Memorial Museum
- https://www.kankou-shimane.com/destination/20282
Last verified: 2026.07.05