Gunsmith's Home

The combined residence and workplace gun 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 gun 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

Access

Alight at "Takasujinsha Station" on the Hankai Line

Other

Interior not open to the public

Inquiries

Facility Name

Gunsmith's Home

Local Map

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