Okawa-suji Samurai Residence
Background
The Okawasuji Samurai Residence was the home of the Teshima family, retainers of the Tosa Domain Lords, the Yamauchi. It had become dilapidated, but in the early 1990s a group of local residents started a movement to preserve it, with the result that the Kochi City Council declared it a Tangible Cultural Property and had it restored in 1996. It was opened to the public the same year. Inside are furniture and fixtures “appropriate for a samurai family”. It is the only samurai residence remaining in Kochi City.
Also on site is a storehouse moved from somewhere else (the on-site sign didn’t say where, and there’s not much info about the property in English online), which contains displays relating to the Tosa Domain and the Teshima family.
The sign says valuable architecture includes the gatehouse, clay wall, big cycad tree and the main house. It goes on to say the gatehouse, which was originally built in 1855, has been “reproduced”.
Gallery
| Okawa-suji Samurai Residence Profile | |
|---|---|
| English Name | Okawa-suji Samurai Residence |
| Japanese Name | 大川筋武家屋敷 |
| Year | |
| Residence Type | Upper Class |
| Designations | Registered Tangible Cultural Property |
| Features | Gates, Garden, House |
| Visitor Information | Open 9am-5pm; closed Wednesday and Dec. 27-Jan. 3; Free admission |
| Website | https://www.city.kochi.kochi.jp/site/kanko/bukeyashiki.html |
| Location | Kochi, Kochi Prefecture |
| Castle | Kochi Castle |
| Coordinates | 33° 33' 55.40" N, 133° 32' 7.12" E |
| Kochi Castle and nearby Samurai Homes | |
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| Admin | |
| Visits | May 2023 |
| Added Jcastle | 2024 |
| Contributor | AnneMcL |
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