Imanishike Shoin

Introduction

The Imanishi Family Shoin in Fukuchiin-cho, Naramachi, is a rare surviving example of early Muromachi-period shoin architecture — the residence of the Fukuchiin family, long stewards of Kofuku-ji's Daijoin, taken over in 1924 by the Imanishi family, brewers of the Harushika sake brand. In 1937, with Osaka's Yoshimura House, it became one of the first private buildings designated a National Treasure; under the 1950 Cultural Properties Law it is now an Important Cultural Property. Repaired repeatedly since the early Edo era, including a 16-month dismantling restoration in 1978, it keeps its angular pillars, shoji and fusama; the garden turns through ume, fukujusou, cherry, hydrangea and maple, and the cafe serves sweets made with Harushika daiginjo sake lees and amazake — a quiet, refined stop on a Naramachi walk.

✨ Highlights

🛈 Practical Info