Old Asakura House

Name: Old Asakura House
Address: 29-20 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Daikanyama, Kantō region, Japan
Telephone: 03-3476-1021

Written by Chris Kirkland

Old Asakura house (or Kyu-Asakura House) is a rare and beautifully preserved old wooden house in the centre of ultra-modern Tokyo.

A second floor passageway in Kyu-Asakura House | Photo by Gregory Lane

Built in 1919, it was the residence of the Torajiro Asakura, the chairman of the Tokyo Prefectural Assembly, and then a member of the local Shibuya City Assembly.

The house has been designated as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese Government due to its architecture, history and because it is a rare example of a large wooden house that survived the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.

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View from the Suginoma (cedar rooms) | Photo by Gregory Lane

Most rooms of the house have floors of tatami. The Suginoma (cedar rooms) on the west side of the ground floor offer a particularly beautiful view of the garden.