A Village of Traditional Japanese Houses
Discovering Regional Architecture
The museum preserves traditional houses as important cultural heritage while introducing the everyday lives of the people who once lived in them. Rather than displaying buildings as isolated architectural objects, the open-air setting allows visitors to walk among them and imagine how traditional communities were organized.
The houses demonstrate the remarkable diversity of Japanese architecture. Mountain villages, farming communities, coastal regions, snowy northern areas, and subtropical islands all developed distinctive ways of building homes suited to their environments.
For international visitors, the museum provides an excellent opportunity to understand traditional Japan through its buildings and landscapes rather than through historical artifacts alone.
Important Cultural Properties
Former Yamada Family Residence – Shinano Akiyama
The Former Yamada Family Residence was relocated from Sakae Village in Nagano Prefecture. Designated as an Important Cultural Property, the house preserves architectural features characteristic of the middle of the Edo period.
Its construction includes features such as thatched walls, earthen floors, and post-in-the-ground construction, providing an insight into the practical building techniques used in mountain communities in earlier centuries.
Former Izumi Family Residence – Settsu Nose
The Former Izumi Family Residence was relocated from Nose Town in Osaka Prefecture. This traditional house is characterized by an irimoya-style roof with the entrance at the gable end and a large thatched roof.
The roof structure incorporates a distinctive regional technique known as odachi torii-gumi, a construction method associated with the Kinai region around the former capitals of Kyoto and Nara.
Former Shiiba Family Residence – Hyuga Shiiba
The Former Shiiba Family Residence was relocated from Shiiba Village in Miyazaki Prefecture. It is a distinctive example of a traditional house built on sloping terrain, with its main rooms arranged in a row-like parallel layout.
The building illustrates how communities in mountainous areas adapted domestic architecture to steep landscapes and local living conditions.
Traditional Houses of Outstanding Cultural Value
Gassho-Style House from Hida Shirakawa
The Former Oi Family Residence, a traditional gassho-style house from Shirakawa Village in Gifu Prefecture, is designated as an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property.
Its enormous steeply pitched thatched roof is one of the most recognizable forms of traditional Japanese architecture. The dramatic roof was designed to cope with the region’s heavy snowfall and demonstrates how architecture evolved in response to local climate.
Registered Tangible Cultural Properties
Kawachi Fuse Nagayamon Gate
The Kawachi Fuse Nagayamon Gate was relocated from Higashiosaka City. Originally the main gate of the former Shoto Shiozawa residence, it provides an example of the substantial entrance structures once associated with traditional residences in the Osaka region.
Dojima Rice Storehouse
The Dojima Rice Storehouse originally stood in Osaka’s Dojima district during the Edo period. Its preservation offers a glimpse into the city’s historic relationship with rice storage and commerce.
Kitakawachi Tea House
The Kitakawachi Tea House was relocated from Katano City in Osaka Prefecture. Its modest scale and traditional design convey the quiet atmosphere associated with Japanese tea culture.
Traditional Houses Designated by Osaka Prefecture
Echizen Tsuruga House
The Echizen Tsuruga House was relocated from Fukui Prefecture and preserves the appearance and construction techniques of a traditional Edo-period residence.
Yamato Totsukawa House
The Yamato Totsukawa House was relocated from Nara Prefecture. Its surviving traditional architectural features provide an insight into the way people lived in the mountainous areas of the Kii Peninsula.
Amami Oshima Takakura
The Amami Oshima Takakura was relocated from Amami Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture. This raised storage structure reflects the distinctive architecture of Japan’s subtropical southern islands.
Its design demonstrates how traditional buildings were adapted to a warmer and more humid environment, creating a striking contrast with the houses from snowy northern Japan.
Nambu Magariya – Former Fujiwara Family Residence
The Nambu Magariya, or L-shaped house, was relocated from Iwate Prefecture. Traditionally associated with the Tohoku region, this type of house combines a residence with a stable for horses under one connected structure.
The design reflects the close relationship between farming families and horses in the region and provides a fascinating example of how domestic architecture was shaped by everyday work.
Shodoshima Rural Kabuki Stage
The Shodoshima Rural Kabuki Stage was relocated from Kagawa Prefecture and is designated as an Osaka Prefecture Tangible Folk Cultural Property.
The stage offers a glimpse into entertainment and community life in rural Japan during the Edo period. Kabuki was not only a professional theatrical art performed in major cities but was also enjoyed as an important form of entertainment in rural communities.
Other Exhibits and Facilities
The museum offers more than traditional houses. Visitors can also encounter a variety of displays and structures that help recreate the atmosphere of earlier Japanese communities.
Sakai Windmill and Traditional Daily Life
A historic-style windmill from Sakai adds another distinctive element to the museum grounds, while the “Life in the Past” exhibition introduces objects and information related to everyday life in traditional Japan.
A seminar room is also used for lectures, cultural programs, and special events, allowing visitors to explore Japanese history and traditional culture from different perspectives.
Iwaki Itakura – A Reminder of the Great East Japan Earthquake
One particularly meaningful structure on the museum grounds is an Itakura building from Iwaki City, which was used as temporary housing following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.
Today, the building serves as the museum’s reception area. Its presence connects traditional Japanese construction techniques with the more recent history of disaster, recovery, and reconstruction, giving visitors an opportunity to reflect on the resilience of local communities.
A Living Picture of Traditional Japan
The Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farm Houses offers a rare opportunity to encounter traditional houses from many different regions of Japan in one place.
Walking through the grounds, visitors can see how architecture changed according to climate, geography, local industries, and ways of life. A steep thatched roof in snowy Gifu, a horse-and-house combination in Iwate, and a raised storage building from subtropical Amami Oshima each tell a different story about the people who built and used them.
Because the houses are displayed within the greenery of Hattori Ryokuchi Park, the experience is also considerably different from visiting a conventional indoor museum. Visitors can take their time walking from one building to another while enjoying a natural setting that helps evoke the atmosphere of a traditional Japanese village.
Experience the Diversity of Japan’s Traditional Life
For travelers interested in Japanese history, architecture, traditional culture, or rural life, the Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farm Houses offers an especially rewarding experience.
Rather than presenting a single image of “old Japan,” the museum reveals the country’s regional diversity through authentic historic buildings. It is a place where visitors can discover how people once lived, worked, celebrated, stored food, raised animals, and adapted their homes to the environments around them.
Surrounded by the natural scenery of Hattori Ryokuchi Park, the museum provides a peaceful journey through the architectural and cultural heritage of Japan.