Culture & History

Old Ikeda Row House Gate

The Old Ikeda Row House Gate stands within the third district, close to Hikone Castle's inner moat. Once, mid-level samurai houses were spread across all of Osue-cho district, which was also home to the Ikeda residence. This structure was designated a Hikone City Cultural Asset in 1973, as it is a valuable, archetypical example of the residence of a mid-level samurai in Hikone Domain. In order to properly preserve and maintain this long gate, a project to completely restore the entire structure with the help of the national government was undertaken from 2008-2011, in accordance with the "Act on Maintenance and Improvement of Traditional Scenery in Certain Districts" (popularly known as the "Historical Town Restoration Law"). An excavation and examination of the structure confirmed the existence of a stable that had only been heard of in local folklore until that time, and the stable was reconstructed.
Before the Siege of Osaka, the Ikeda family were so-called "People of Iga," a ninja family in the service of Naomasa Ii, who fought in both campaigns in the Siege of Osaka. After the battle, they were given samurai status and given posts until Naoki Ii, the 4th castle lord. For a time, their stipend of rice was 250 koku, and was 180 koku towards the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, making theirs a mid-ranking samurai family. This house in Osue-cho was given to them in the mid-Edo Period (1603-1868).
With knowledge of the lives of lower- and mid-ranking samurai at the time, one can determine that this is truly a priceless structure.

*Will be opened to the general public beginning October 2, 2011.

Address
Osue-cho, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture 522-0001
Business Hours
9:00 am. - 5:00 p.m. Parking for cars and bicycles is not available, so please make your visit via public transport.
Closed on
December 25th - 31st

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