Chiba Prefecture Charms - Antique Houses

Before I came to Japan, I’d only ever lived in houses built by generations before me. The first house my parents bought on the east side of Vancouver, Canada, was in the Craftsman style with high ceilings and a solar room with mullioned windows, erected in the 1920s. It’s still occupied. The next house was even older, a 1910 farmhouse in a rural community south of the city. The kitchen had an old-fashioned kitchen cooler cupboard from an era before refrigerators.

The former Hotta Residence in Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture

You’re hard-pressed to find housing stock in Japan older than 30 years due to a preference for new construction. For a few years, I lived in a typical 1970s suburb in Chiba. While it was charming with tatami mats, a tiled bath, and capacious oshiire closets, fusuma, and shoji, it was falling to bits. It was fun to live the traditional lifestyle, but later I moved to a much more modern apartment. It has an up-to-date electrical system, and it’s easy to maintain.

Chiba Prefecture has a few preserved gems, gorgeous houses that have survived for decades and centuries. I recommend visiting them to get a sense of the lifestyle of yesteryear.

A treasure in Kashiwa City is Yoshida-tei, a manor built by soy sauce barons. One exceptional part of the main house on the estate is the 縁側 engawa, solid verandas that have endured because of the masterful construction technique. The main house is spectacular for its thatched roof.

Another beauty with a mix of Edo and later eras is the Inoue Residence in nearby Abiko City. It’s out of the way but worth a look for its harmonious blend of Edo and Taisho period architecture. It’s got some wear, but that’s a testament to the life of the Inoue family that occupied the house until 2012.  

Chiba City has a few gems, too, with colourful histories. When you’re in Chiba City, you can wander about the Former Kamiya Denbei Villa and the cottage occupied by Pujie, the brother of the last emperor of China. Stroll between them, and take a breather at Inage Sengen Shrine and Inage Park with its trees with legs.

On a visit to Sakura City, my companions and I appreciated the contrasts between the two heritage residences. The Former Hotta Residence has an atmosphere with echoes of a sumptuous lifestyle, with huge receiving rooms and a garden that takes advantage of 借景, shakkei, borrowed scenery. Also in the city is a vestige of the castle town, the 武家屋敷, bukeyashiki, samurai residences. Three remain, austere and elegant. 

There are so many more heritage houses in Chiba Prefecture. Which ones have you visited? Which resonated with you?