Culture and History
The old house, Yamaju House, is located along an old road in the Nakatsu-Kumasaka area of our town, which has been selected as one of the "100 Best Townscapes in Kanagawa" and has retained its traditional appearance. The house, which represents the appearance of a wealthy farmer's residence in this region in the early Meiji period, was restored and preserved by Aikawa Town in order to preserve the building and garden for future generations, and was registered as a tangible cultural property by the nation in January 2009.
Built in 1883, this is the residence of Kumasaka Hanbei, a wealthy farmer in the Nakatsu area. "Yamaju" is the family name of the Kumasaka family. The house has a tiled roof and a hip-and-gable roof, and has a large room with a tatami-floored interior. It has six rooms, faces almost west, with an earthen floor to the south and six rooms to the north. The building is made of zelkova wood, and the main pillar is a single piece of wood measuring approximately 50 cm square, with the upper section measuring approximately 62 cm wide and 713 cm long. In 1944, the house became the property of the philosopher Okawa Shumei, and after his death, it passed through other owners before coming into the ownership of the town in 1988. After some restoration, it has been open to the public since 1989.
