Nakahashi Residence: A Rice Merchant's House by Shōnenji
Study a rice merchant's compact house and its later low loft across from Imaicho's founding temple.
Verified site photographs are being prepared.Discover Nakahashi Residence: A Rice Merchant's House by Shōnenji
Nakahashi Residence is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property on the north side of Midō-suji, diagonally east of Shōnenji Temple. The family traded rice under the Yonehiko name and later also handled fertilizer and metal goods. Kashihara City dates the main structure by its construction methods to about the later eighteenth century, with a low front loft added afterward. Its earthen-floor work space, staggered rooms and modest scale offer a useful contrast with the grander homes of town elders. Interior entry is irregular and allowed only when the household posts a viewing sign.
Compare house and temple on one short lane
The house stands by Shōnenji, a central temple in Imaicho's former temple town, but it is a separate residential property with its own door and rules. From the street, look for the white upper wall over the boarded lower wall on the road-facing side. The roof and low loft tell a story of change: the city considers the main body later-eighteenth-century and the small front upper space a later addition, not one unchanging Edo-period snapshot.
Follow a merchant's working rooms
Municipal research describes a western earth-floor work area and six rooms on the east, arranged with offsets rather than a simple straight grid. A small open-front shimo-mise shop corner occupied the south-west of the earth floor. The layout helped a household trade and live in the same footprint. The family is documented on this site in an eighteenth-century temple map, but that map alone does not date every timber in the present building.
Trust the entrance sign, not an old pamphlet
A much older Imaicho pamphlet labels Nakahashi Residence non-public. Kashihara City's March 2026 visitor sheet and the current tourism association instead say an interior visit may be possible when the entrance displays a viewing sign; neither promises a fixed daily timetable. The tourism association says the adult admission rose to ¥400 from January 2025 and lists cash-only payment. Call 0744-22-7288 if seeing the interior matters; never assume that a closed sign can be bypassed.
Make a realistic, respectful stop
The city gives no reliable daily opening hours in its latest sheet, so schedule this as a possible stop within a wider Imaicho walk, not the one guaranteed attraction. A publicly managed house or townscape centre offers a fallback nearby. Leave a vehicle outside the narrow district and walk from Yagi-Nishiguchi. Ask before photographing rooms or visitors; the heritage designation does not make a lived-in private home freely accessible.
What to look for
Rice merchant's work space and staggered six-room plan
Later low loft over a modest historic frontage
Close comparison with Shōnenji and other Imaicho houses
Photo notes
No photograph of Nakahashi Residence is licensed for MyNara. Ask the householder before interior photos, video or published images. Exterior streetscape photography must respect residents and the on-site rules of neighbouring properties.
SEASONAL CALENDAR
Events connected with Nakahashi Residence: A Rice Merchant's House by Shōnenji
These records are shared with MyNara’s event calendar, so dates and notices have one source. Recurring patterns are not confirmed dated editions; check the organizer’s latest guidance.
Imaicho Townscape Walk
Kashihara City describes this town-wide May festival as a chance to experience Imaicho's history and culture in its nationally designated historic district. The programme can include a period-costume tea procession, a recreated Rokusai market, tea service, street art, performances and openings at selected historic houses. The Agency for Cultural Affairs' profile of the district reports more than 10,000 visitors annually. The usual window is the second Saturday through the third Sunday in May, with the main events on the third Sunday; check the current city or preservation-society notice for the next dates, open buildings, fees and traffic arrangements. The district is the venue; nearby shops and residences are not automatically participating venues.
Check organizer informationMake a day of it
Explore guides close to this map point, then check the actual route before travelling. Distances below are straight lines, not walking distances or travel times; map points may not be entrances.
Sources & editorial status
Original MyNara draft based on the linked sources. Sources reviewed 20 October 2026. Opening arrangements, prices and offers may change; use the operator's current information before travelling.