Gunsmith's Home

・ Summary
The combined residence and workplace cum shop of the Sekiemon Inoue gunsmiths, active since the 17th century. The building is one of the oldest remaining examples of “Machiya construction,” in which residential and shop or other commercial spaces are combined together, and is a designated tangible cultural asset of the city as the only remaining gunsmith’s house retaining features from the gun producing era of the city.

After the methods for the production of guns passed from Tanegashima and reached Sakai via such individuals as Matasaburo Tachibanaya, the city went on to become the number one region in Japan for gun production. This gunsmith’s house is an extremely precious building, being the only one of its kind to retain the aspect of such a house from the Edo period, and it is a designated tangible cultural asset of the city. It is the combined residence and workplace cum shop of the Sekiemon Inoue gunsmiths, active since the 17th century, and can even be found on a grand map of Sakai from 1689. This not only makes it valued as one of the oldest examples of Machiya construction remaining in Japan, but also as a building retaining features from the gun production that supported Sakai.
After the Osaka Summer Campaign, the town was reorganized. This formed the basis for Sakai as it is known today, and led to the city maturing into a place of commerce centered in the production of such items as guns, knives, and textiles. The Kitahatagocho region, and in particular in the vicinity of the gunsmith’s house, retains much of the aspect of those times, with numerous buildings with gabled rooves and other examples of traditional architecture really bringing to mind the gun making lifestyle of the early Edo period.
・ Address　1-3-22 Kitahatagochonishi, Sakai-ku, Sakai shi

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・ Official HP None