Property:Background
From Jcastle.info
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The Ishiguro Residence is the oldest samurai home in Kakunodate. The Ishiguro were in charge of finances for the domain and the highest ranking retainer to the the Satake. Despite the high rank, the house is fairly modest but does display some subtle points that are significant of an upper class samurai such as the style of garden and the blackened fence around the house. This is the oldest remaining house in Kakunodate. The family still lives in part of the house so only a portion is open to the public. +
The Isojima Residence is the best preserved Ashigaru residence in Hikone and the only one that is regularly open to the public. It is now owned by the city and except for a few minor changes, faithfully preserves the original ashigaru home. The small room in the back was a later addition and the direct connection from the house to the [https://www.hikoneshi.com/sightseeing/article/tsujibansho Tsuji Bansho guard house] was also a change. Originally the Bansho would not have been connected to the house and would not have had an opening onto the garden. The guard house would have been alternately manned by the ashigaru of this subdivision not just the residents of the house. A small door along the side which is typically close would have been used for the Bansho.
I am including photos of the bansho here, because it is connected to the house today and does not fit well elsewhere. +
Isozaki-bukeyashiki is an extant bukeyashiki (samurai residence) in the Matsubara neighbourhood of Hikone. Hikone Domain, being centred upon Lake Biwa, maintained a naval force, led by between thirty and fifty-five naval officers depending on the time period. These officers, organized under a fleetmaster, lived with their families besides the Matsubara Port.
The Isozaki family home is the best preserved bukeyashiki of Hikone's feudal era naval officers. The patriarch of the Isozaki family held the rank of Suishu-kogashira (maybe equivalent to a rear admiral or commodore), of which he was one of two in the domain's inland navy. Isozaki-bukeyashiki, dating to 1843, can be viewed from the street but it is still occupied and not open to the public. +
Itō Hirobumi, Japan’s first Prime Minister, lived here until 1868. Born into a low-ranking samurai family in Chōshū, he studied under [[Yoshida Shoin Residence|Yoshida Shōin]]. In 1863, he was among the Chōshū Five ([[Hagi Castle Town#~The Revolutionaries~|details here]]). Itō played a leading role in drafting the Meiji Constitution (1889). He became Japan’s first Prime Minister in 1885, serving four terms and shaping the country’s early government. Later, as Resident-General of Korea, he oversaw Japan’s expansionist policies before being assassinated by a Korean nationalist in 1909.
His house from Tokyo was later moved here next to his original home. It is well worth visiting for its blend of traditional and modern architectural elements, though photos have been omitted here since it is not a samurai residence. +
The Ito relocated here with the Ohmachi in 1644. The Ito also served as one of the last ''karo'', a high ranking samurai, at the end of the Edo Period. The house dates to this period. The house has now been converted to a cafe. +
The Nakamachi District is a preserved area of townscape in the castle town of Hirosaki. It was built in the area of the castle's north entrance area, at the time known as the Oite Gate. Four homes are open to the public: the Itō-bukeyashiki, Iwada-bukeyashiki, Umeda-bukeyashiki and Sasamori-bukeyashiki. These homes feature ornate entrances and tatami-laden rooms. They recall to us the simple and robust lifestyles of the urban middle-class samurai of Edo Japan. It seems there are several more bukeyashiki still extant in the district besides, but these are not open to the public and presumably still lived in.
The Itō-bukeyashiki was the residence of a man of learning, the clan doctor. It was originally actually located in the Motonaga neighbourhood but was moved to be with other extant bukeyashiki in the Nakamachi neighbourhood in 1975, and it was restored as close to its original appearance as possible. Presumably up until that time it had been lived in by its previous owners. The house is thought to have been constructed in the early 19th century. Its simple but rigidly constructed floors and shelves creates a calm space of a feudal residence. There are about five main rooms, all roughly square, not including the kitchen, and there is a mezzanine room above.
The Itō Residence, a prefecturally designated historical site, was unfortunately closed during my visit to Hirosaki in 2017. These are exterior photos only. One photo shows the historic streetscape lined with hedgerows. +
Iwada-bukeyashiki was built around 1800 and has a thick straw thatched roof, and a guest parlour and reception room. These rooms have ceilings but if you exit the patriarch's quarters into the kitchen or store room, the ceiling disappears and you can see the roof supports above. It's not inconceivable that a stealthy enemy could drop down from here or the residents could use it as a place of temporary concealment, but that was just a whimsical thought I had. This is one of the best preserved samurai residences in Hirosaki, an important window into the past.
Like the other bukeyashiki open to the public in Hirosaki, the Iwada Residence was a middle-class residence. Here are my thoughts on the prevalence of middle-class homes amongst extant bukeyashiki. An observation of extant samurai residences: many of the extant samurai homes of the Edo Period belonged to "chūkyū" middle-ranking samurai. There are notable exceptions, of course. Kakunodate contains many lavish residences which belonged to high-ranking retainers, and Shibata has a preserved row house for ashigaru, the lowest-ranking bushi. But why are most of the extant bukeyashiki (samurai homes) we see today built for middle-ranking bushi? Or, more properly, why did many higher and lower class bukeyashiki class homes succumb to history and time? I've put a little thought into this. Firstly, lower-ranking homes were more shoddily built and were never expected to last too long. They were surrounded by farming plots used by the inhabitants to augment their meagre stipends. These homes were soon rebuilt after the Edo Period and became undistinguished from their commoner neighbours. Naturally higher-ranking samurai residences were, although fewer, built on a grander scale. Their geography ultimately points to their downfall in this case. The higher ranking the retainer the closer his home would be to the lord, and so the castle. Many higher ranking bushi homes then shared the fate of castles, many of which were destroyed in wars or simply demolished. Whilst the core of many castles have been preserved today as either parks of landmarks, usually their outer environs were swallowed up by subsequent development in the modern period. This is so for many Edo Period castles because they became economic hubs and are responsible for defining the urban landscape of Japan today because most cities were built originally around castles, including Tōkyō. Outer moats of castles were filled in and their outer baileys farmed or built over, whilst the suburban / rural mid-ranking samurai homes further away from the castle were more likely to be left alone and continued to be lived in. Additionally whilst castle structures with plastered walls and ceramic tiling proved somewhat more enduring, the primary materials used in the construction of bukeyashiki were wood and straw thatching, which if left to nature quickly become dilapidated (especially, thatching is preserved for longer by absorbing the smoke of hearths which drives insects out). Most bukeyashiki still around today were lived in up until fairly recently, and indeed some are still inhabited by the descendants of samurai today.
It's not known exactly when the house was built but it was renovated towards the end of the Edo Period. The most significant change was replacing the thatch roof with wooden tiles. This residence is well known for an oak tree that is over 300 years and beautiful sweeping sakura (cherry blossoms). +
This house was reformed from a nagaya style house in 1858. Various samurai lived in this house over the years, but the name Iwama comes from the people who acquired it in 1948. The house was moved to the Maizuru Park and renovated in 1995. +
The Takahashi-bukeyashiki is a nationally designated historical site. Unlike other samurai homes in Ômori whose patriarchs worked at the Ômori-daikansho, the Takahashi-bukeyashiki is located outside of town in an area close to the silver mines. The Takahashi were in charge of overseeing daily operations at the silver mines, heading up the "mountain squad" contingent of the samurai in town, as opposed to the more "white collar" workers of the daikansho. +
This house is interesting because it looks like one story on the outside but is actually 2 stories. the second story also has an intentionally short ceiling to make it difficult to use swords inside. In the naming of the residence ''Karo'' simply refers to the highest rank of elite samurai in the Edo Period. Karo often served as castellan when the daimyo was away or a karo in Edo would serve as the daimyo's representative or ambassador when he was not in Edo. +
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The remains of the Honda Residence are found at the site of the Ishikawa Prefectural Art Museum, or more properly below it. Here various ishigaki (stone-piled ramparts) segments can be found. At the bottom of this terrace are surviving structures from the residence which have been relocated to the site of what is now the Honda Park. These structures are the nagayamon (row house gate), and a residential structure dating to the late Edo period. The latter is now known as the Shōfūkaku ('Pine Wind Pavilion'), and it is surrounded by a garden – also part of the Honda compound – dating to the early Edo period, made from dredging swamp land. The Honda were upper class samurai and high-ranking retainers of the lords of Kaga Domain; the Honda were one of the Kaga Eight, a group of powerful families. The yearly earnings of these powerful families was on par with smaller domains. Kaga itself was an expansive and wealthy domain. The Shōfūkaku is the only surviving residential structure out of all of the homes of the Kaga Eight, and as such it is listed as Important Cultural Property. +
The Kakiuchi-bukeyashiki, a samurai residence located in the Kachimachi neighbourhood of the castle town of Tanba-Sasayama, is now part of private property and not open to the public. However, it appears to be in very good condition. The current owners live in a modern home adjacent to the house, and so have not modernised the bukeyashiki, but nonetheless maintained it. This is an unusual boon, so hopefully the Kakiuchi-bukeyashiki can be opened to the public in future. +
After the Meiji Restoration most vassals left the area and houses were razed, but the Kasai family as one of the few that remained. The house was moved in the Taisho Period but it was lived in until not long ago. There were some additions and remodeling but it remained as a typical middle class samurai home from the Edo Period. Unfortunately, it is nearly condemned now and it's only a matter of time before it's completely gone. I think it is now beyond repair. +
The house and stable are original to the house. The stable (middle middle) was actually built in the Meiji Period but reflects Edo Period architecture like the house. The third and smallest building is a reconstructed (2006) outhouse. This style of samurai residence with house, stable and outhouse was common in the are and called ''mittsuya keishiki'' or "three buildings design". The residence may have had a storehouse as well. +
The Katôno-bukeyashiki, a samurai residence in the castle town of Tanba-Sasayama, is now a cafe which specialises in continental teas. We luncheoned here. The owners did not know who the original owners were. I was able to carry out some original research, however, and determine that the samurai family which lived here was called Katôno. +
Built in the late Edo Period, the Katō-bukeyashiki (samurai residence) is now an inn ran along with Takyō Abe Inn, another former bukeyashiki nearby. The Katō were samurai officials employed at the daikansho (magisterial offices for direct representatives of the Shogunate), which basically had the task of overseeing the important Iwami silver mines of great economic interest to the Shogunate. +
Katō-bukeyashiki is a samurai residence site in Kameyama. It is a short walk from the castle. On weekends the property is left open for visitors to freely enter. I had not been able to enter inside the property on my first visit to Ise-Kameyamajō in 2016, so it was nice to be able to do so this time.
The Katō family served as retainers of the Ishikawa Clan, rulers of Ise-Kameyama Domain. The nagayamon (gate-rowhouse) and kura (storehouse) date to the late Edo period, and are municipally designated cultural assets. These buildings face the street and are connected by a wall. The namako-kabe ('sea slug wall') plastering on the kura is rather fetching.
The nagayamon is well preserved and contains small living quarters and a stable. Although other buildings on the property were lost, the nagayamon survived as it was rented out to tenants. The omoya (main building) appears to have been rebuilt at some point after a fire, although the kitchen area remained intact from the Edo period. +
This is one of the most recently preserved houses and was protected as a [https://www.sankei.com/article/20170329-73CC4B4M3NMTDGHA6Q6AJEIJSE/ City Cultural Property in 2017]. It was restored as a private home and has no website but you may see some nice photos of the interior on the [https://kokenchiku.jp/works/10847/ developer's website]. +
The Kawara Residence is estimated to be the oldest home among the three in Sakura. The earliest record notes it's existence in 1845. The home was donated to the city in 1987. The inside is opened 4 times a year on national holidays. Check the website for details. +
