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The Sugimoto Residence is built in the traditional wooden Kyoto townhouse style with sliding wooden doors (kyokoushi and dekoushi), inuyarai (which prevents dogs from leaving their "mark") and second-floor windows made in the tsuchinuri (stucco) style. Built in the traditional style of having the family business in the front section of the main building and the family living quarters in the back, the Sugimoto Residence was originally constructed in 1743. In the mid-part of the Edo (Tokugawa) Era the original residence was a clothier known as the "Nara Residence" run by Mr. Shinemon Sugimoto.

The current house was re-built in 1870 after a major fire swept through the area at the end of the Edo Era. The total land area is 1200 meters squared and the floor space is 435 meters squared making it the largest remaining family-owned and run Kyoto townhouse, needless to say this is a source of family pride and honor.
During the Gion Festival, the Sugimoto Residence brings out the "Hakuga-yama" float for everyone to enjoy.

The Sugimoto family home continues to represent and pass on the enduring warmth and beauty of traditional Japanese homes.
While traditions bring with them heavy responsibilities they also allow us to enjoy the natural beauty of old-styled homes.
There is a certain simple comfort found in traditional products like wood, soil and paper that blend nature and family life under one roof.

Even though the Sugimoto Residence has been recognized as a cultural asset,
what makes it unique is that even today mambers of the Sugimoto family continue to live and work out of this extraordinary home.
Thus explaining its continued warmth and vibrance.




 "Cha-shitsu" (The Tea-room)
The unusual curved lines of the alcove ("tsurikabe") give the tearoom added flare.
Opening ceiling kitchen
The large supporting beams (seen in the photo) reach three-stories high at around 8.5 meters.
The Garden
Stone rabbits play in the moss garden.

Kitchen Stoves
Large kitchen stoves ("kamado") were the heart and hearth of a home.
Ms. Setsuko Sugimoto:
She is the 11th generation of the Sugimoto Family, and handles administrative duties in the Sugimoto Residence Preservation Foundation as well as helps maintain traditional customs in the Sugimoto Residence.

You may view our interview with Ms. Sugimoto in our "Topics" section.

There is an old Kyoto saying that if a townhouse had 8 parlors then it was a house fit for a nobleman.
The Sugimoto Residence takes pride in the 10 and a half parlors (in addition to other rooms) in their fine home.
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