Interview with the 16th head of the Inoue family
We spoke with Inoue Fumihiko, the 16th head of the Inoue family.
Preservation and repair work that revealed the building’s historical changes
I heard that Inoue House is the only surviving old-style merchant house in the Bikan Historical Area.
Inoue (honorific omitted)
That’s right.
After preservation and repair work that lasted about 10 years, beginning in 2012, we learned that the main building was built in 1721, during the Edo period, and is the oldest machiya townhouse in the Bikan Historical Area.
The preservation and repair work restored the house to how it appeared during the Tenpo era, when the 10th head of the family, Saburoemon, was active.
What led to the large-scale preservation and repair work?
Inoue
The Inoue family home was used as a residence from the Edo period onward, with repairs carried out repeatedly.
After a new house was built on the property in 1997, it became the family’s living space. Until then, however, people had lived in the building that is now open to the public. Even after the family moved into the new house, my father continued to use this building to receive visitors and conduct business.
However, buildings deteriorate over time. The Inoue family home had suffered from leaks, termite damage, and deterioration-related damage.
In 2004, after the main building and other parts of the property were designated a Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property, the national government, Okayama Prefecture, and Kurashiki City provided their support, and preservation and repair work began in 2012.
Why did the work take as long as 10 years?
Inoue
The original plan was for the preservation and repair work to take six years.
However, once work actually began, we found more damage and deterioration than expected. In some places, the floorboards had even given way.
There was also no vacant lot nearby where we could build a shed to store dismantled building materials and replacement supplies, so we rented land farther away and built one there. As a result, transporting materials to and from the site took time as well.
The preservation and repair work also included seismic reinforcement. This involved structural calculations and the fabrication of custom steel frames for the Inoue family home.
Alongside this work, we had specialists examine and assess materials as they were discovered, to learn how the building had been used. We also organized the materials that had been preserved over the years.
Materials uncovered during the preservation and repair work, as well as the building’s historical changes, are on display, and we also introduce them to visitors during tours of the building.
Its role as a “Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property”
Are there any special initiatives you undertake in your role as a Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property?
Inoue
The Act on Protection of Cultural Properties states the following:
Owners of cultural properties and other relevant parties must recognize that cultural properties are precious national assets, carefully preserve them for the public good, and strive to make cultural use of them, including by making them accessible to the public as much as possible.
Source: Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the Act on Protection of Cultural Properties
For this reason, we must not only preserve cultural properties carefully, but also strive to make cultural use of them, including by opening them to the public. The Inoue family home became a cultural property after having been a private residence, so it was opened to the public.
We do our best to guide visitors by giving them pamphlets and providing exhibit panels and explanatory signs.
Staff members, including me, also give demonstrations and tours.
Exhibits offering glimpses of everyday life are popular
The preservation and repair work recreated the interior as it was during the Tenpo era. Why was that period chosen from among the Inoue family’s long history?
Inoue
It was the period when the Inoue family was at its most prosperous and the building was at its most fully equipped.
Actually, when the work began, we hadn’t yet decided which period to restore it to.
The preservation and repair work also revealed that the building had undergone repeated extensions and renovations over its long history.
We also had the dismantled materials examined to determine how each room had been used and, in the first place, the order in which the rooms had been built.
Based on the findings, we decided to restore the Inoue family home as it was during the Tenpo era.
Since opening to the public, what kinds of visitors have you received?
Inoue
Many visitors, from Japan and abroad, are interested in old houses.
About 20 percent of our visitors are from overseas. If people contact us in advance, we can also provide tours in English.
Visitors enjoy exhibits that evoke everyday life, such as the bath and toilet for guests, the built-in kitchen cupboards with names written on the drawers, and the kitchen. Some of the names on the drawers belong to my father.
The shoji-style shutters, sliding-up doors, storm shutters, and door pockets also have unusual mechanisms, and many visitors are delighted, saying, “It’s like a ninja house!” You can even see the mechanisms in action.
Inoue House is also a participating facility in the “Iki Iki Passport,” which allows elementary and junior high school students living in Kurashiki City to use cultural and social education facilities free of charge. We also welcome visits for school trips and other educational activities.
We’ve also restored the kitchen hearth, so I hope we’ll be able to offer hands-on learning activities someday.
What do you recommend visitors do at Inoue House?
Inoue
I hope you’ll take a look at the seasonal ikebana and flower arrangements that volunteers create and display in each room.
I also recommend relaxing on the tatami while looking out at the garden.
Beside the small courtyard garden with its snow-viewing lantern is a hanging scroll depicting a crane. It’s lovely to imagine the time when cranes lived here.
At the entrance, there are models of the joints and four-way joints used in the preservation and repair work.
You can pick them up and assemble them yourself, so why not enjoy learning by doing?
Finally, do you have a message for our readers?
Inoue
Please come and experience the feeling of stepping back in time as you imagine life in the Edo period.
From the Writer
During the 10 years of preservation and repair work, Mr. Inoue apparently continued living in the new house on the same property.
Living on the grounds of a Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property, with work continuing on the main building right in front of you—that must have been a rare experience.
For the historic Inoue family home, its role as a Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property and as a museum open to the public is only just beginning.
As one of the traditional sights of the Bikan Historical Area, it is a place that we hope will continue to share the story of life in this town.
Articles about Kurashiki City’s Japan Heritage
Inoue House, a Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property Information
| Name | National Important Cultural Property Inoue House |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-36 Honmachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-422-0714 |
| Parking | None |
| Opening hours | 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (last admission at 4:30 p.m.) |
| Closed | Mondays Year-end and New Year holidays (12/28–1/3) (Open on Mondays that are public holidays; closed the following day) |
| Admission (tax included) | Adults ¥500 (¥400) Elementary and junior high school students ¥300 (¥200) Preschool children Free ※Prices in parentheses apply to groups of 20 or more. |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Available To request a tour in English, please confirm by phone. Reservations are also required for group tours (30–60 minutes). |
| Smoking | Entirely non-smoking |
| Restrooms | Western-style toilets |
| Child-rearing | Designated facility for the Ikiiki Passport |
| Accessibility | Canes may be brought inside if fitted with cane covers. Tours can be given with masks removed. Many exhibits can be enjoyed by touch. |
| Website | National Important Cultural Property Inoue House |
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
Enter a search term to find articles on this site
