The mansion facing Imadegawa-dori Street is usually closed.However, the gates were open for a few days during a special open house period.Since this is a rare occurrence and I was curious, I decided to take a look around.
The Reizei family has been in the family for about 900 years.The mansion was built in the early 17th century on the present site.A large fire in the late 1700s destroyed all the buildings except the storehouse, but it was rebuilt within a few years.During the Meiji period (1868-1912), while many court nobles accompanied the emperor and moved to Tokyo, the Reizei family remained in this area.
This means that for 400 years since the beginning of the Edo period, the mansion of the Reizei family has not moved from this site.As might be expected, the building underwent extensive repairs about 30 years ago over a period of 10 years.
Unfortunately, there are no images of the mansion because photography of the grounds was prohibited.Just being able to enter the grounds of the Reizei family, which are normally inaccessible, was amazing.
Reizei Family Residence
https://reizeike.jp/index_en.html
The Reizei Family Residence is located on the grounds of Doshisha University, north of the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
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