Tsuchida Family Residence

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Tsuchida Family Residence
The oldest farmhouse in the prefecture, built in the 17th century, this features a rare example of a “chumon-zukuri” (small gate in a tatami room) structure derived from the “shuden-zukuri” style of medieval samurai residences. It is an extremely valuable building for understanding the form of upper class farmhouses in the early modern period.
The Tsuchida family residence is located at the west end of a hamlet known as “Aibatate” in the town of Yashima. According to family tradition, it is said to have been built by Seizaemon I, who died in 1678 (Enpo 6), and is estimated to have been constructed in the late 17th century. It is the oldest minka (private house) in the prefecture and one of the oldest in eastern Japan in terms of pillar arrangement and finishing, and is an important surviving example of the history of the chumon-zukuri style.
The ancestors of the Tsuchida family are said to have been descended from Yukichika Nenoi Koyata, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Kiso Yoshinaka’s generals. The ruins of a hill-shaped mansion called Nenoi-date, located north of Aibatate, are said to be the remains of their ancestors, who were given a red seal by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and treated as independent minor lords of the area. It is believed that the present Aibatate hamlet was settled in the early Edo period (1603-1867). It is said that the family fell during the war in the early modern period, and the head of the family at that time left his home and opened a temple in Shimohitane, and his son returned to farming and set up the present residence.
The current owner, Kiichiro Tsuchida, is the 25th head of the family.
This house is of the “chumon-zukuri” style, which differs from the later completed chumon-zukuri style. It is an academically valuable residential structure that is both old and has elements of the “shuden-zukuri” style, which derives from samurai residences from the Middle Ages onward. The building was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in February 1973, and was dismantled and repaired over a period of one and a half years from July 1984. Based on careful research, the original old materials were reused as far as possible, and in December 1985, the building was restored to its appearance similar to that of the late 17th century.