Edoshinden Co., Ltd. Antique Gallery and Cafe in Sasayama

Edoshinden Co., Ltd. (江戸親伝) is based at 174 Inui Shinmachi, Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture. The company operates an antique gallery that incorporates a kominka-style cafe and restaurant, engages in the sale and worldwide import/export of antiques, and occupies a building constructed and used as the Sasayama Castle lord’s official physician’s residence that dates to roughly 400 years ago.

History

The company began life as Kabushiki-gaisha ASUNARO, established on April 1, 2000 in Kawanishi City by founder Yoshinao Fukushima. ASUNARO started as an architecture-related business, later expanded into other fields and at one point employed about 50 people. In 2011 Fukushima found a nearly 400-year-old former residence in Tamba-Sasayama that had served as the castle lord’s official physician’s house. After negotiating directly with the house owner, the company invested funds from its previous business, undertook a large-scale renovation and repurposed the property as an antique gallery with an attached cafe-restaurant. The company name was changed in 2011; the present name carries the intention of fostering familiarity with and transmission of Edo-period life.

The site and building

The property covers about 300 tsubo and comprises the main house, three traditional storehouses (kura) and a central courtyard. Structurally the main house retains much of its original form, though parts have been remodeled during the conversion to a gallery and hospitality space. The complex includes two principal period rooms: a west-side “Meiji room” with glass doors that face the Japanese garden and a cafe-restaurant layout, and an east-side “Edo room” close to the entrance that reproduces Edo-period domestic life and is fitted out for group dining and gallery display.

The entrance is marked by a wooden crosspiece gate known as a kanamaki gate; its construction mirrors the gate form found at the entrance to Sasayama Castle and reflects a gate type that moved from lower-class dwellings into use at some daimyo outer gates. Inside the house visitors can see original features retained from the earlier period, including an irori (hearth), a kamado (traditional stove) and a well, all contributing to the building’s cultural value.

Collections and exhibitions

Edoshinden presents antiques from Japan and overseas across the main house and its three kura. The gallery displays more than around 150 domestic and international antiques plus English furniture and fittings. Permanent exhibitions include ukiyo-e and trick-art displays housed within the kura structures. The Meiji room displays roughly 160 different branded cups and glasses from around the world.

The business model pairs gallery viewing with food and drink: the same rooms that display antiques also serve as cafe spaces, allowing visitors to view period rooms and collections while seated. The founder collected antiques from around the world using funds from the company’s prior operations and opened the renovated house as an antiques venue.

Garden, courtyard and notable objects

The Japanese garden contains several notable trees and features: a black pine estimated at 400 years old and about 10 meters tall, plus maples, plum, sansho, pomegranate and sasanqua plantings. The grounds also include daimyo bamboo originating from southern China and Taiwan and a tara-yō (Tara-yo) tree, a species associated historically with the origin of the postcard.

A hexagonal stone lantern in the garden stands about 2 meters tall; it is the same design as an Edo-period stone lantern at Tokyo’s Kanda Myojin that was dedicated by four town fire brigades during the Tenpo era, marking it as a valuable historic object. The courtyard also displays a BMW R20 motorcycle associated with the film The Great Escape starring Steve McQueen, and film-related materials are shown alongside it, drawing particular interest from motorcycle enthusiasts.

Operations and public profile

Edoshinden operates as an antique retailer and gallery while also handling exports and imports of antiques. The fusion of period-room reconstruction, a gallery spread across the main house and kura, and an on-site cafe-restaurant was presented as a new business model and has been featured across magazines, newspapers, television and town publications. Because the building itself is historically significant, the gallery has attracted visits from notable figures, cultural personalities and international visitors.

The company lists its business address as 174 Inui Shinmachi, Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture.

Surrounding attractions

The gallery sits within a district rich in historic sites and preserved architecture. Nearby points of interest referenced in local information include the Sasayama Castle ruins (the castle site and associated large Shoin hall), a number of local castle ruins, the Sasayama Traditional Buildings Preservation District (a nationally designated Important Traditional Building Preservation Area), the Kawaramachi tsuma-iri merchant houses, a Noh theatre museum, Aoyama Historical Village (the former Aoyama clan villa), and the Tamba Sasayama City Museum of History and Art, which occupies the former Sasayama domain office and houses what is described as Japan’s oldest wooden courthouse building. The area also includes temple halls and shrines designated as Important Cultural Properties and a sake-brewing head office listed as a registered tangible cultural property.

FAQ

What is Edoshinden?

Edoshinden Co., Ltd. is a company that operates an antique gallery with an attached cafe-restaurant in Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture.

What is the historical significance of the building?

The building was constructed and used as the Sasayama Castle lord’s official physician’s residence and is about 400 years old.

When did the company repurpose the house as an antique gallery?

The company was founded as ASUNARO on April 1, 2000 and changed its name and repurposed the house in 2011, undertaking a large-scale renovation around the time of the September 1, 2011 name change.

What are some of the gallery’s prominent displays and garden features?

The site includes a main house and three storehouses showing around 150 antiques and English furniture, permanent ukiyo-e and trick-art exhibitions, a BMW R20 from The Great Escape in the courtyard, a roughly 10 m black pine estimated at 400 years old, and a 2 m hexagonal stone lantern.