The Gassho Zukuri houses of Nihon Minkaen, a large outdoor folk museum in Noborito ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan.
A couple months ago I wrote about the number of folk museums in Japan and old buildings that the Japanese have preserved from their history. The best of these folk museums that I have found so far is a park complex in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture called simply Nihon Minkaen – literally Japan Folk Museum. This sprawling outdoor museum is the home of more than 25 old buildings from across Japan that date from from the mid Edo period up to the early 20th century. All of these buildings are well maintained, documented, and are even grouped together by type, architectural style, and use. Most of the houses are open to walk through and take pictures, and on weekends there are often living history demonstrations and events. The photos below are just a small sampling of the buildings preserved at Nihon Minkaen.
The first collection of houses at Nihon Minkaen. These houses were all owned by successful merchants and most also served as storefronts and showrooms.
The Misawa house in the foreground has stones on the roof. These stones held the long wood planks on the roof and helped prevent water from puddling on the shallow pitch. Every few years , these planks are turned over or replaced.
The Emukai house is a Gassho Zukuri house from Gokayama in Toyama Prefecture. This part of Japan gets very heavy snowfalls, and the steep gables allow the snow to slide off of the roof and not crush the house. The design of Gassho Zukuri houses in Toyama differed slightly from those in the Hida region of Gifu.
The Yamada house was just on the Toyama side of the provincial border and architecturally is closer to the Gassho style houses of Gifu. The village of Katsura, where the Yamada house was originally located, was flooded by the construction of a dam on the Gokayama river, though not before this old farm house could be relocated and preserved.
The Yamashita house sits in front of the other Gassho Zukuri style houses at Nihon Minkaen. The Yamashita house was originally from Shirakawago, but was relocated to Kawasaki where it was converted into a restaurant. In 1970 it was relocated to its current location, where it still operates as a soba noodle restaurant at lunch time. The second floor also acts as a museum and exhibition hall.
The Ota house is more of a collection of small, connected buildings than one house. This style of farm house, called Bunto, was popular in Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures north of Tokyo.
The Hara House was built in 1913 by a merchant family in Yokohama. Oddly enough, the Hara family got rich dealing in manure. As they became successful, they started buying up land and eventually built this house.
Inside of the Hara house. Before the Meiji period, most homes were sparse affairs with little or no furniture. As Japan modernized n the late 1800s, however, larger, unmovable furnishings became more popular.
Again, this is just a small sampling of what is available at Nihon Minkaen in Kawasaki. Most of the signs and literature are in English and the staff are both friendly and knowledgeable. Those I encountered were even happy to practice their English by explaining the buildings to me. Overall, it is a fine collection and very worth the trip. To get there, you can go to either Noborito station or Mukogaokayuen Station, depending on whether you use the Odakyu line or the Nambu line. It is a bit of a walk, but it is a great neighborhood and there is a beautiful park around the folk museum as well.
Nihon Minkaen closes at 5pm daily and costs 500 yen to enter.