The only remaining warrior-class home in the Inuyama Castle Town

The Former Horibe Residence offers visitors a glimpse of what samurai family houses in the castle town of Inuyama looked like. For generations, the Horibe family served the lords of Inuyama Castle. Although the main residence was built in 1883, after the warrior class had been abolished following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the house bears many characteristics of a traditional samurai dwelling. These include a front garden, as well as a hierarchical floor plan in which the innermost tatami-mat room is considered the most formal.

The residence extends across just over 1,330 square meters and encompasses the main house, a corridor that connects to an annex building used for entertaining guests, an earthen-walled storehouse, breezeway, and workshop. Six buildings on the premises, including the main house, the annex, and the storehouse, are registered Tangible Cultural Properties. The residence has been administered by the city of Inuyama since 2009 and is being renovated to restore its original appearance.