Nishimura-ke and Umetsuji-ke in Kyoto, Japan

The Nishimura residence and Umetsuji residence are houses that were built for of the nearby Kamigamo Shrine. This type of house is called . The term Shake (社家) consists of the Chinese characters for “Shrine” and “Family, House”.

In some shrines, the position of the head priest has been a hereditary position – the same family provided the new head priest and other officials or servants generation after generation. Until the early Meiji period, this has been common practice in Japan. But due to misuse of authority and nepotism, the Grand Council of State stopped this practice in 1872. These families have often lived close to the Shrine, and an entire quarter full of Shake has grown over time. In 1872 the houses were officially separated from the shrines, but the families continued to live in them.

In Kyoto, the Kamigamo shrine (上賀茂神社) in the north east of the town has such a quarter called Shake- (社家町). The area southeast of the Kamigamo shrine is very picturesque: A small clear creek flows next to the street, and narrow stone bridges lead to the entrances_of each house. All Shake houses are smaller than the big (鳥居 - vermillion Shinto shrine entrance gate) of the Kamigamo Shrine. Behind earthen walls (土塀 - ), trees and tall shrubs suggest old, peaceful gardens. There used to be more_than 300 houses here during the Edo period, now there are only 40 left. Only Nishimura-Ke (西村家) is open to the public on a regular basis. It has been designated a place of scenic beauty.

Contents

Introduction

Residence

Plants in the Garden

Residence

Architectural features of the Umetsuji Residence

How to get there

9 pages

48 illustrations

11.4 MB

2012