Former Sugiyama House, Historical residence in Jinaimachi, Japan

The Former Sugiyama House is a traditional wooden residence in the Jinaimachi district of Tondabayashi, made up of several connected buildings under a four-layer roof structure. The rooms include tatami floors, sliding doors, earth-floored entryways, reception areas with Osaka-style wall finishes, and decorated fusuma screen doors.

The Sugiyama family, who took the name Sugiyama Chōzaemon over generations, were among the Tondabayashi Hachininshū who founded and ran the Jinaimachi temple town. They began as cotton wholesalers, then acquired a sake-brewing license in 1685 and brewed sake here until the Meiji era. Output grew from 30 koku to 104 koku in 1697 and 1,103 koku by 1785. The house itself dates from the mid-17th century.

The house sits in the historic Jinaimachi district of Tondabayashi, one of the most intact Edo-period neighborhoods in Japan. Walking through the rooms, visitors can notice how the layout separates the private living quarters from the commercial side of the property.

The whole property is open to visitors, and all areas of the buildings can be explored freely. It is worth wearing shoes that are easy to remove, since some rooms with tatami floors are entered without footwear.

The poet Isonokami Tsuyuko, born Sugiyama Taka in this house, wrote under the Meiji-era Myōjō circle alongside Yosano Akiko. Letters and panels connected to her are displayed inside the building, a link visitors rarely expect in a merchant home.