Kominka Sui: with samurai roots

KominkaSui:The Historic Old House of Yamakawatei

Located in 10 hectares of woodland in Onna, Koga city, in the southwestern part of Ibaraki Prefecture, Yamakawatei was built more than 150 years ago using traditional techniques on the site of a stronghold called the Nyonin Toride, which dates back to the Warring States Period of Japanese history (1467 to 1615). The historic main house and its beautiful natural surroundings are the perfect places to enjoy the cherry blossoms in the spring and the changing of the seasons.

The History of the Yamakawa Family

Yamakawa was the name of a family tied to the famous Yuki clan in the Northern Kanto region. They were a family of samurai regarded as one of the Yuki clan’s four most prominent supporters. After the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), the leader of the Yuki clan, Hideyasu Yuki, was rewarded with a massive fief worth some 670,000 koku (more than ten million kilograms of rice) in Echizen Province (modern day Fukui Prefecture).
The Yamakawa family joined Hideyasu in moving to Echizen. However, one of the members of the Yamakawa family that made to the move to Fukui, Tomotsugu Yamakawa-Yugei , left his family behind in Yamakawatei in Onna. After the Siege of Osaka Castle marked the end of Japan’s civil wars in this period, Motozugu went back to his family in Onna and called for them to join him.
However, maybe because of nostalgia, he never returned to Fukui and chose to live in Onna as a farmer. Today, we are left with the historical site of a stronghold belonging to a prominent local family steeped over many generations with this fascinating history and personal meaning.