Horikawaya Matabei Residence Main House: A Townhouse Behind the Temple That Named Gobo
A short distance from the Horikawaya Nomura brewery, in a different part of Gobo, stands a low townhouse that belongs to the wider Horikawaya lineage: the main house of the Matabei family. It sits in the centre of the old temple town that grew up around Hongan-ji Hidaka Betsuin, the temple known locally as Hidaka Gobo and the source of the city's very name. The house faces west onto a street behind the temple, roofed in formal layered tile, and its front carries a feature that locals call odare, a hanging fascia board fitted under the eaves that gives the town its particular look.
The single-storey building, with a partial upper floor, covers about 189 square metres. A projecting lattice, the degōshi, stands across the front, and the interior is laid out in two rows, with the rear north room serving as the formal reception room. The building height is low and the proportions old-fashioned, marks of an early date. It was built in the late Edo period and remodelled in the early Shōwa era.
Why It Was Registered
The Matabei Main House was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 7 October 2014. Together with its storehouse and the five Horikawaya Nomura buildings, it formed the group of seven that became the first national registrations in Gobo City. Registration is the lighter, encouragement-based tier of protection for buildings that shape the historic character of a place, distinct from the stricter designations of Important Cultural Property and National Treasure.
Its value is as a townscape building. The low eaves, the degōshi lattice, and above all the odare fascia are regional features, and the house holds them in a setting that still reads as a temple town. Rather than standing out, it does its work by fitting in, helping the street behind the Betsuin keep the scale and texture it has carried for generations.
What to Notice on a Visit
Gobo took shape as a jinaimachi, a town that formed under the protection of a Jōdo Shinshū temple. The Hidaka Betsuin was established in the area in the late sixteenth century, and the merchant and craft houses that gathered around it gave the district its enduring form. The Horikawaya name runs through this community: the family associated with the Nomura brewery is remembered, by tradition, for a hand in building the Betsuin itself, and the Matabei house carries the same name in the heart of the temple town.
This is a private residence, so the building is to be appreciated from the street rather than entered. Walk the lane behind the Betsuin and look up at the odare beneath the eaves and the degōshi across the front; these small features, repeated along the street, are what give the old town its rhythm. Combine the visit with the nearby Hidaka Betsuin and, a short distance away, the Horikawaya Nomura brewery shop for a fuller sense of how faith, commerce, and craft shaped this corner of Wakayama.
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Q&A
- Is the Matabei house the same as the Nomura brewery?
- They are separate properties that share the Horikawaya name and were registered together in 2014. The Nomura site is a working brewery; the Matabei house is a townhouse in the temple-town centre.
- What is the odare?
- A local term for a hanging fascia board set under the eaves of the front, a regional feature of houses in this part of Gobo.
- Can I go inside?
- No. It is a private residence. Please view it from the street and respect the occupants' privacy.
- What is a jinaimachi?
- A town that grew up under the protection of a Jōdo Shinshū temple. Gobo formed around the Hidaka Betsuin, which gave the city its name.
- How old is the house?
- It dates from the late Edo period and was remodelled in the early Shōwa era (1926–1945).
Basic Information
| Name | Horikawaya Matabei Residence Main House (Shuoku) |
|---|---|
| Location | 85 Gobo, Gobo City, Wakayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure); registered 7 October 2014; registration no. 30-0192 |
| Registration criterion | Contributing to the historic landscape of the nation |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Structure | Timber, single storey with partial upper floor, tiled roof, building area approx. 189 m² |
| Period | Late Edo period; remodelled early Shōwa (1926–1945) |
| Access | Private residence; view from the street only |
References
- National Database of Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Horikawaya Matabei Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010225
- Cultural Heritage Online (National Institutes for Cultural Heritage): Detail 232838
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/232838
- Hidaka Shimpo: Horikawaya buildings registered as national cultural properties
- https://hidakashimpo.co.jp/?p=24518
Last verified: 2026.06.25