A Diet Member's Guest Wing Above the Tama River
Tsukumo Family Residence Main Building (津雲家住宅主屋, Tsukumoke Jūtaku Omoya, also written Tsukumo-ke Jutaku Omoya) is a wooden house in Sumie-chō, Ōme City, western Tokyo, recorded by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as completed in 1934, and entered on the national Register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 17 August 2020. It was raised by Tsukumo Kunitoshi (津雲國利, 1893–1972), an Ōme native who worked in banking and then in newspaper management in Utsunomiya before winning a seat in the House of Representatives in 1928.
The building was never simply a family home. The Agency's own commentary describes it as a wing added to Tsukumo's residence for receiving guests, and the plan reads that way the moment you step past the entrance. To the west sits an eight-mat tea room. To the east, on the ground floor, a reception room pairs a boarded floor with a built-in alcove and shelving. Government figures and cultural visitors came through these rooms during the decades Tsukumo held office.
Upstairs the plan opens out. The whole second floor is given over to one large hall, and the veranda along its southern edge looks down across the Tama River. Guides published locally note that the Okutama peaks, Mount Ōdake among them, come into view on clear days.
One detail rewards a second look. In the eight-mat room northeast of the entrance, the beams overhead were salvaged from an old sake brewery and deliberately left exposed. A kitchen continues west of that room.
Why the Building Entered the Register
The house carries registration number 13-0437, granted in the 96th round of registrations under the criterion that a building stands as a model of design (造形の規範となっているもの). Official records give the structure as timber, single-storey with a partial second floor, roofed in tile, with a building area of 229 square metres.
Registration is a lighter instrument than designation as an Important Cultural Property. Introduced in 1996 for buildings of roughly fifty years or older, it asks owners to give notice before altering the exterior rather than freezing a building in place. That flexibility explains why so many privately held houses of the early twentieth century have joined the register, and why this one can still function as a small museum with a tearoom in one of its rooms.
The workmanship behind the house is unusual for a provincial town. Carpenters were brought in from Kyoto and worked alongside Ōme's own tradesmen, an arrangement the Agency singles out as having produced reception rooms of high quality. Accounts published in Ōme add stonemasons and tatami makers to the roster, and point to glass panels set into the partitions along the veranda, a modern substitute for paper shōji in an otherwise thoroughly Japanese interior.
A word on dates. The official record fixes completion at 1934. Guides issued in Ōme describe the work as having started around 1931 and proceeded in stages, and one account carries it as late as 1940. Where the sources part company, the 1934 figure is the one held in the national register.
Visiting: Hours, Tickets and Photography
The house opens to the public as Ōme-juku Tsukumo-tei (青梅宿 津雲邸), a small history museum showing letters, calligraphy and documents connected with figures such as Sakamoto Ryōma and Kondō Isami. Opening is confined to Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, generally 10:00 to 16:00, with the building shut Monday through Thursday. Further closures fall during exhibition changeovers, in summer and over the New Year, so a telephone call ahead is sensible.
Admission has been listed at 500 yen for adults, with junior high school students and younger admitted at no charge. Special exhibitions can carry different rates.
Photography indoors is restricted. Visitor accounts consistently report that interior shots are not permitted as a rule, and staff should be asked before a camera comes out. The exterior, including the gate and the long wall along the lane, presents no such problem.
Reaching the house takes five or six minutes on foot from JR Ōme Station on the Ōme Line. Follow Ōme-kaidō, then turn at the Sumie-chō intersection into the narrow lane marked by a stone pillar, which runs past Enmei-ji temple. Inside, a tearoom called Susutake-no-Ma serves coffee, matcha and sencha in vessels handed down in the Tsukumo family.
Two related structures stand within a few steps. The gate and the reinforced concrete wall that encloses the western edge of the grounds are registered properties in their own right, listed alongside the house in the same round. Upstream at Hinatawada, Rinsen Garden occupies the site of Tsukumo's former villa and is open without charge.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside Tsukumo Family Residence Main Building, and when is it open?
- Yes. The house operates as the history museum Ōme-juku Tsukumo-tei, open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, generally 10:00 to 16:00. It closes Monday through Thursday, and also for exhibition changeovers, in summer and over the New Year. Because the calendar shifts with the exhibition programme, confirm by telephone before travelling.
- How much does admission to Tsukumo Family Residence Main Building cost?
- Adult admission has been listed at 500 yen, with junior high school students and younger admitted free. Rates during special exhibitions may differ, so check the current figure when you confirm opening days.
- How do I reach Tsukumo Family Residence Main Building from JR Ōme Station?
- Walk about five to six minutes. Leave the station, follow Ōme-kaidō for roughly 400 metres, and turn into the small lane at the Sumie-chō intersection where a stone pillar stands. The lane slopes down past Enmei-ji temple, and the residence lies just beyond, at 72-2 Sumie-chō.
- Is photography permitted inside Tsukumo Family Residence Main Building?
- Interior photography is generally not allowed, and visitors are asked to consult staff about any exceptions. Photographing the exterior, the gate and the wall along the street is unrestricted.
- What else at Tsukumo Family Residence is registered besides the main building?
- Three structures were registered together on 17 August 2020: the main building (13-0437), the gate (13-0438) and the wall (13-0439). The gate is a timber structure with a 2.0-metre opening and flanking wing walls; the wall runs 28 metres in reinforced concrete under a tiled roof. Seeing all three from the lane costs nothing.
Basic Information
| Name | Tsukumo Family Residence Main Building (津雲家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 72-2 and vicinity, Sumie-chō, Ōme City, Tokyo |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 13-0437; criterion: a model of design |
| Year Designated | Registered 17 August 2020 (96th round of registration) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single-storey with partial second floor, tiled roof; building area 229 m². Recorded date 1934 |
| Owner | Privately held; no owner name is entered in the national database |
| Public Access | Open as Ōme-juku Tsukumo-tei on Fri, Sat, Sun and public holidays, generally 10:00–16:00; adults 500 yen, junior high and younger free. Interior photography restricted |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs — Tsukumo Family Residence Main Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013359
- Cultural Heritage Online — Tsukumo Family Residence Main Building
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/443676
- Ome Tourist Guide — Tsukumo-tei
- https://www.omekanko.gr.jp/spot/30301/
- Another TOKYO TAMA — Ome-juku Tsukumo-tei
- https://at-tama.tokyo/lang_jp/culture/tsukumo-tei/
- Otama Tourism Federation — Ome-juku Tsukumo-tei
- https://www.ohtama.or.jp/sightseeing/1101.html
Last verified: 2026.08.05