About the Ogawa Family Residence Main House
The Ogawa Family Residence Main House (小川家住宅主屋, Ogawa-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a wooden house of two storeys with a single-storey section, built in 1912 in Otome 3-chome, Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 31, 2007. It is the centerpiece of the compound that Ogawa Zenpei, head of the Kurumaya fertilizer wholesalers of Otome Kashi, set up beside the highway, and its interior is now open to visitors as part of the Oyama City Kurumaya Museum of Art.
The house stands in the middle of the plot and has a footprint of 195 square meters. The roof is laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles, and the outer walls are clad in Shitami-itabari, horizontal boards lapped one over the next. Wide openings run around the sides of the building.
Why It Was Registered
The Ogawa Family Residence Main House was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to the large hip-and-gable Irimoya-zukuri gable on the southwest end and calls the exterior an imposing one, fitting for the home of a wealthy merchant.
Oyama City adds two reasons. The construction date and the master carpenter are both known, and the house is well preserved inside and out, which makes it a valuable piece of modern Japanese-style architecture. The exterior is entirely Japanese in manner, and most rooms on both floors are tatami Zashiki. One room breaks the pattern: the southwest room upstairs is fitted out in Western style.
The Western Room Upstairs
That upstairs room is what most visitors to the Ogawa Family Residence Main House remember. The Agency describes it as decorated with elaborate Shikkui plaster relief, and Oyama City speaks of rich Western ornament. Nothing on the outside hints at it, and the room shows how a late-Meiji merchant family slipped European decoration into an otherwise traditional home.
The position of the room is worth noting. The big gable the Agency praises is also on the southwest end, so the showpiece of the exterior and the showpiece of the interior occupy the same corner of the house.
Within the compound, the main house came a year after the rice storehouse and a year before the fertilizer storehouse. The storehouse moved from the riverside stands in front of it and the fertilizer storehouse behind, so the family home is framed by working buildings front and back, a layout that says a good deal about a wholesaler's household.
Visiting the Main House
Visitors can go inside the Ogawa Family Residence Main House, entering through the house's own front door. It is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from April to September and from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from October to March, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. Admission is 100 yen for adults and free for junior high school students and younger, as checked on Oyama City's pages on October 4, 2026.
Because of the way the interior is built, wheelchairs, strollers and walking frames cannot be used inside. Walking sticks are fine, and staff will wipe the tip at the entrance.
Oyama City's pages say nothing about photography indoors, and some visitors have reported that it is not allowed, so ask at reception before taking pictures inside. Out in the garden, look for the lapped board walls and the large irimoya gable rising on the southwest end.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Ogawa Family Residence Main House
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Q&A
- When was the Ogawa Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1912. The Ogawa family, fertilizer wholesalers at the Otome Kashi river port, built it when they moved to this site at the end of the Meiji era.
- Why is the Ogawa Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- Its imposing exterior, with a large irimoya gable on the southwest end, was judged to contribute to the historic landscape of the country. It was registered on July 31, 2007.
- Where is the Western-style room in the Ogawa Family Residence Main House?
- On the second floor, in the southwest corner. It is the one Western room in a house otherwise made up of tatami rooms, and it is decorated with plaster relief.
- Can I go inside the Ogawa Family Residence Main House, and how much does it cost?
- Yes. Admission is 100 yen for adults, 50 yen for high school and university students, and free for junior high school students and younger. It is closed on Mondays and the fourth Friday of the month, among other days.
- Is the Ogawa Family Residence Main House wheelchair accessible?
- No. The interior layout does not allow wheelchairs, strollers or walking frames. Walking sticks may be used.
Basic Information
| Name | Ogawa Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-10-34 Otome, Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered July 31, 2007 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 195 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (opened to the public by the Oyama City Kurumaya Museum of Art) |
| Public Access | Open (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 or 5:00 p.m., depending on the season; adults 100 yen) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Ogawa Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00006555
- Cultural Heritage Online: Ogawa Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/142318
- Oyama City: About the Ogawa Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.city.oyama.tochigi.jp/kankou-bunka/rekishi_bunka/bunkazai/page000618.html
- Oyama City: Kurumaya Museum of Art, Accessibility (Japanese)
- https://www.city.oyama.tochigi.jp/kurumayamuseum/page004444.html
- Oyama City: Kurumaya Museum of Art, Admission (Japanese)
- https://www.city.oyama.tochigi.jp/kurumayamuseum/annai/page009259.html
Last verified: 2026.10.03
