Kumagai Family Residence

Overview

The Kumagai Family Residence, located in Ōmori-chō, Ōda City, Shimane Prefecture, is a wealthy merchant's mansion built from the late Edo period to the Meiji period. According to ancient records, the Kumagai family were originally retainers of the Mōri clan and were involved in silver mine management in the 17th century. Later, they served as the town's financial officers for the local magistrate's office and held the position of 'Toshiyori' (town official) in the 19th century. From the late Edo period, they also operated a sake brewery. The existing mansion complex was rebuilt after a great fire destroyed Ōmori town in 1800 (Kansei 12). Its reconstruction continued sequentially until the early Meiji period. Located near the northern end of Ōmori town's streetscape, east of the road leading to the silver mine, the silver mine river flows behind the property. The main house faces the road on the western edge of the property. To the north, also facing the road, stands the north tool shed, followed by a small storehouse and a clothing storehouse to the east. Further east is the east tool shed, and to the south, the rice storehouse and miscellaneous storehouse, offering a glimpse into the lifestyle of a wealthy merchant of that era. The main house features a Sekishu tile roof and plastered walls, with a gable roof on the north side, a pitched roof on the south, eaves on all sides, and a partially two-story structure. The floor plan measures 18.8 meters in length and 14.5 meters in width. The main part of the house features a through-passage dirt floor on the south side, with living rooms arranged in two rows on the north. A one-ken-wide tatami corridor surrounds the garden. A storage area protrudes from the front (west side) south of the main section, and a bathroom and toilet are attached via a corridor at the northeast end. The back (east side) has protruding sections at both the south and north ends; the former houses a sitting room, kitchen, and bathroom, while the latter connects to a storehouse-like room in front of a clothing storehouse. The Kumagai Family Residence is the largest private house in Ōmori-chō. The surviving family diagrams make it invaluable for understanding the development of the mansion layout. It was designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1998 and is a component of the World Heritage site, "Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape."