Sōshidō: The Farmhouse Yoshikawa Eiji Rebuilt for His Writing Life
In 1944 the novelist Yoshikawa Eiji left central Tokyo for Yuzuki, a former silk-farming hamlet in the hills of Ome. The house that received him was a broad farmhouse raised in the middle Meiji period, sometime between 1883 and 1897, for a family that kept silkworms under its roof. Yoshikawa named the place Sōshidō and, over the years that followed, reshaped it to suit a writer's daily rhythm, drawing up the alterations himself around 1948.
The main house is a two-story timber building of roughly 240 square meters, now roofed in copper sheet. Its gabled form still carries three smoke vents along the ridge, the openings that once let heat and air rise from the rooms where trays of silkworms were tended. Few visitors expect a literary landmark to sit inside a working farmhouse, and that double identity is exactly what makes the building worth the trip out from the city.
Why the Main House Was Registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs entered the main house on the national register of tangible cultural properties on 27 February 2023, listing it alongside three other structures on the grounds under the single heading Former Residence of Yoshikawa Eiji (Sōshidō). The main house holds registration number 13-0479 and was recognized under the criterion for buildings that stand as a model of design.
That recognition rests on two layers. The first is the farmhouse itself. Its three smoke vents and exposed timber frame keep the look of a Meiji sericulture dwelling at a moment when most such houses have been lost or altered past recognition. The second is Yoshikawa's own hand. He did not erase the old farmhouse; he adapted it, keeping its bones while carving out the spaces a novelist needed for work and for receiving guests.
What to Look for Inside
Two spaces reward a slow look. Just past the earthen-floored doma, Yoshikawa built a reception room in a mixed Japanese and Western manner, where editors and callers waited for him. He took unusual care over its design, and the room reads today as a small portrait of his taste.
Beyond it lie the two linked ten-mat rooms that open onto the garden. Yoshikawa wrote here and slept here, and the wide view of greenery from the veranda shaped the hours he spent at his desk. Much of The Tale of the Heike Retold, the serialized epic that earned the first Kikuchi Kan Prize, is said by tradition to have taken form in these rooms. Sit on the engawa now, with the garden filling the open shōji, and the slow accumulation of manuscript pages is easy to imagine.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the main house?
- Yes. The main house, which Yoshikawa called Sōshidō, is normally open to visitors as part of the Ome City Yoshikawa Eiji Memorial Museum, and the linked tatami rooms and the reception room can be viewed.
- What did Yoshikawa Eiji write here?
- He lived at the house from 1944 to 1953 and worked on several books, among them The Tale of the Heike Retold, which by tradition he composed in the garden-facing tatami rooms.
- How old is the building?
- The farmhouse dates to the middle Meiji period, between about 1883 and 1897. Yoshikawa remodeled it to his own design around 1948.
- How do I reach the museum?
- From Futamatao Station on the JR Ome Line it is about a 15-minute walk. From Ome Station, a Toei bus bound for Yoshino stops at Yuzuki, a minute from the gate.
- Are the other buildings on the grounds also registered?
- Yes. The Western annex, the nagayamon gate, and the storehouse were registered on the same date and can be seen on the same visit.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Residence of Yoshikawa Eiji (Sōshidō), Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 101-1 Yuzuki-machi 1-chome, Ome City, Tokyo |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building); registration no. 13-0479 |
| Registered | 27 February 2023 (criterion: model of design) |
| Period | Middle Meiji period (circa 1883-1897); remodeled circa 1948 |
| Structure | Timber, two stories, copper-sheet roof; building area about 240 m² |
| Count | 1 building |
| Owner | Ome City |
| Access | About 15 min on foot from Futamatao Station (JR Ome Line); or Toei bus to Yuzuki stop from Ome Station |
| Open to the public | Yes, as part of the Ome City Yoshikawa Eiji Memorial Museum (closed Mondays; check current hours) |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs), Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014463
- Ome City Yoshikawa Eiji Memorial Museum, official site
- https://ome-yoshikawaeiji.net/
- Ome City official website, Yoshikawa Eiji Memorial Museum
- https://www.city.ome.tokyo.jp/site/provincial-history-museum/24522.html
Last verified: 2026.06.25