The area from Nagoya Castle to Tokugawaen is named " The Cultural Path " due to a series of mansions of cultural and business figures. Many of the historical buildings where the cultural figures who were responsible for the modernization of Nagoya from the Edo period through the Meiji and Taisho periods lived can still be seen today.

The Cultural Path is also the place where ceramic painters and processors gathered and built the foundation of Aichi's ceramic industry. The symbolic building that conveys this fact today is The Cultural Path Shumokukan. We will introduce you to the many charms of this Taisho-romantic mansion.

What is "The Cultural Path Shumokukan"?

"The Cultural Path Shumokukan" is a residence built in 1926 by Tamesaburo Imoto, a ceramics merchant. Nagoya's population was around 90,000 at the beginning of the Meiji period, but by the end of the Taisho period, the population had increased tenfold to over 1 million, making Nagoya one of the three largest cities in Japan, after Tokyo and Osaka. The building is a symbol of the bustle of that era.

On the site of approximately 600 tsubo (approximately 1,860 square meters), there is a Japanese-style house, a Western-style house, two storehouses (east and west), a tea ceremony room, and a garden, all of which retain the characteristics of the late Taisho and early Showa period residences. It is called "Shumokukan" because it was built in Shumoku-cho, and is now designated as a Tangible Cultural Property of Nagoya City and an Important Landscape Architectural Feature.

The entrance area is richly decorated with ceramics, as it was the residence of Tamesaburo Imoto, a ceramics merchant. It is said that he entertained many buyers for export at this mansion.