Step into the Past: Exploring the Sakura Samurai Residences

(Former Kawahara Residence, Former Tajima Residence, Former Takei Residence)

Just an hour east of Tokyo lies Sakura City, home to one of Japan’s most authentic samurai heritage sites. The Sakura Samurai Residences (Former Kawahara Residence, Former Tajima Residence, Former Takei Residence) are not theme-parked nor heavily staged. They simply exist—preserved with care, quietly offering travelers a window into Edo-period life.

Here, visitors will find something rare in modern Japan: not spectacle, but sincerity. The Sakura Samurai Residences don’t shout their presence—they wait for you to notice them.

Three Samurai Houses, Three Stories

These historic buildings are open to the public and offer a rare look into life as it was for Sakura Domain’s lower-ranked samurai during the late Edo period. Each has a unique story and designation:

• The Former Kawahara Residence is the oldest surviving samurai house in Sakura. Designated as a Cultural Property of Chiba Prefecture, its tatami rooms and household furnishings recreate a simple yet structured samurai lifestyle. While the interior is usually closed, it opens six times a year for special tours.

• The Former Tajima Residence stands on its original plot and remains open to visitors who wish to step inside and rest. It has been maintained with minimal alterations, offering a direct connection to the architecture of the Edo era.

• The Former Takei Residence features an exhibit of artifacts excavated during its relocation, giving visitors insight not only into the house itself but into the daily lives of its original inhabitants.

All three homes line a quiet street edged by earthen walls and hedgerows, preserving the outline and atmosphere of a former castle town. The surrounding environment—unchanged and unadorned—completes the experience.

Where the Streets Whisper History

Strolling the street outside, one can sense the passage of time. With its subdued appearance and historical layout, the neighborhood evokes the Edo period not through dramatization, but through stillness. This is not a curated reenactment—what you see is what was left behind, and carefully protected.

For those seeking deeper cultural encounters, this absence of spectacle becomes the destination itself.

Combine Your Visit with Hiyodorizaka

Just a short walk away, Hiyodorizaka offers another glimpse into Sakura’s past. Once a path connecting the castle and town, the bamboo-lined slope leads you through a natural corridor that samurai once used centuries ago. Walking both the Sakura Samurai Residences and Hiyodorizaka reveals not just individual buildings, but a whole city shaped by time.

👉 Read more about Hiyodorizaka here

The Sakura Samurai Residences do not promise thrills or curated excitement. What they offer is something quieter, and perhaps more lasting: a genuine sense of history, a fragment of life once lived, and the stillness to contemplate it all.