The Traditional Gassho-Style Residence
The main house was originally constructed around 1827 by carpenters from the Noto region and renovated in 1854. This four-story building is an outstanding example of gassho-zukuri architecture. Its exterior remains imposing, while the interior’s wooden surfaces have developed a distinctive dark sheen over time.
The first floor was used as living quarters, while the second floor and upper levels were dedicated to sericulture, the raising of silkworms for silk production. Beneath the house, nitre, a substance used in the production of gunpowder, was manufactured until the middle of the Meiji period.
A House Built for an Extended Family
The residence is larger than the Wada House, another famous gassho-style farmhouse in the Shirakawa-go and Gokayama region. In the past, it accommodated dozens of people belonging to an extended family.
The mountainous terrain around Shirakawa Village offers limited flat land for cultivation and settlement. As a result, it was difficult for younger sons to establish separate households. Families therefore tended to remain together, with the eldest son’s family forming the center of the household. This tradition contributed to the construction of exceptionally large homes such as the Toyama residence.
The History of the Toyama Family
For generations, the Toyama family served as local village leaders in Miboro and played an important role in the development of the region’s nitre production and sericulture industries.
In the nitre industry, the family acted as an uwaniya, a coordinating authority responsible for overseeing the manufacture and sale of this material. Only three households held this role among the 23 villages of Shirakawa-go, highlighting the family’s importance in the local economy.
The Toyama family also contributed to the silk industry by managing the purchase of silkworm eggs and overseeing raw silk production. Through these activities, the family helped sustain key industries in the village for generations.
A Famous Example of Japan’s Extended-Family System
The Toyama residence became widely known as a household that preserved the traditional extended-family system. During the Taisho period and the early Showa period, when this family structure attracted considerable academic interest, many researchers visited the house to study how such large households operated.
At its peak in the late 1890s, the household included around 40 family members, making it one of the most notable examples of the extended-family system in Shirakawa Village.
Today, the Former Toyama Family Folk Museum offers a valuable glimpse into the region’s traditional lifestyle, architecture, and rural industries. Exploring the spacious farmhouse and its historical exhibits helps visitors understand how generations of families lived and worked together in the challenging environment of Japan’s mountain communities.