Gunsmith's House

This historic building served as the home, workshop, and shop of the Inoue Sekiemon family, gunsmiths in Sakai since the Edo period. The Gunsmith's House is Japan's only surviving gunsmith's residence from the Edo period and is designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Sakai City.

Its spacious grounds retain the main house, a reception wing, a tool storehouse, a storehouse for straw bales, and auxiliary buildings, preserving the layout of the estate as it once was. Inside, a selection of the approximately 20,000 historical items passed down through the Inoue family is on display. Re-created spaces, including the shop room and forge, show how guns were made and traded here. In particular, the shop room, where guns were bought and sold, and the forge, where gun barrels were made, offer a glimpse into the spaces where the gunsmiths worked.

Historical documents and tools passed down through the Inoue family reveal both the family's history and the development of craftsmanship in Sakai. Walking through this residence, which combined the artisans' living and working spaces, offers a chance to explore the manufacturing culture of a city that prospered through gunmaking.