Ōsawa Residence, House museum from the Edo period in Kawagoe, Japan
The Ōsawa Residence is a house museum from the late Edo period in Kawagoe, featuring thick earthen walls, wooden structures, and traditional tatami rooms. The building displays multiple rooms that demonstrate everyday living, including sleeping quarters, living areas, and commercial spaces.
Built in 1792, the residence represents the prosperous merchant houses of the Edo period when Kawagoe maintained strong trade connections with Edo, the former name of Tokyo. The structure and layout reflect the economic wealth that this region enjoyed during that era.
The rooms display traditional Japanese elements like sliding doors and wooden beams that reflect how prosperous merchants lived their daily lives. Visitors can observe how families used these spaces and how the architecture shaped their routines.
The residence sits in Kawagoe's historic district and is easy to reach on foot. Visitors should know that you enter rooms with tatami mats and a respectful, quiet exploration is expected throughout.
The construction uses the dozō method with specialized earthen walls that provided natural temperature control without modern cooling systems. This system shows how craftspeople in the 1700s solved physical challenges through clever design.
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