What other travelers are saying about Anma-Family Samurai Residence Museum
A small, tranquil museum.
The roof is a work of art! People of the old days worked so hard to build their homes. From inside, you can how different woods/plants were tied together to form this roof.
The house is small and quick to walk through, so take your time and appreciate everything. You can listen to the wind chime and enjoy the breeze. If you make a reservation, you can have tea with a Japanese sweet on the small patio outside in the garden. It was only 1,000 yen for the tea service! Please try it.
Can be toured in less than 30min, a really cute museum of a samurai family. The wind chimes from water on the black rocks was the highlight of the place. Spent 100 yen to get my luck read (u shake a bamboo container until a stick comes out and exchange it to get your luck read). Worth to view as a package with the Castle for 600 yen (total 4 attractions).
A good deal to get the package ticket for the four museums for 600 Yen. They are all close to each other, and individually quite small so can easily be covered in a few hours.
This one showcases a former residence with thatched roof, and a lovely garden. Not many exhibits to see, but nice to just appreciate the historic building.
Couldn't have asked for more. A small, old fashioned house that was once the estate of a samurai. The garden was beautiful, and the items inside were very interesting.
Individual admission costs 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for children. Visitors can also purchase a common admission ticket for 900 yen that provides access to four museums in Tamba-Sasayama: the Anma-Family Samurai Residence Museum, Sasayama Castle Oshoin, Museum of History, and Aoyama Historical Village. This combined ticket offers good value for those planning to explore multiple historical sites in the castle town.
The museum is accessible from Sasayamaguchi Station on the JR Fukuchiyama Line. From the station, take a local bus and get off at Nikaimachi stop, then walk approximately 15 minutes to reach the museum. The residence is located in the Okachimachi Samurai District near the western moat of Sasayama Castle, within the well-preserved historic quarter of the town.
The museum showcases authentic Edo-period samurai life through the preserved residence of the Anma family, who served as lower-ranking retainers to the Aoyama Clan. Visitors can explore traditional tatami rooms featuring the family crest, view historical documents and everyday tableware, and see armor helmets and household items. A unique feature is the suikinkutsu, a water harp cave in the courtyard that produces melodic sounds when water drips into a buried earthenware jar. The thatched-roof buildings represent the standard-scale housing for lower-class samurai during the Sasayama Domain era.
The current residence was constructed after 1830 following a large fire that destroyed the original home and much of the samurai quarter in Sasayama. The building appears on a map from 1837, indicating it was likely completed between the fire and that date. The Anma family, who received a stipend of 12 koku and three fuchi, lived in this residence for generations. The site was designated a Municipal Historic Site in 1994 and was renovated and opened to the public as a museum in 1995.
The Anma-Family Samurai Residence Museum is part of Sasayama's historic castle town district, which contains several significant Edo-period sites. Nearby attractions include Sasayama Castle and its reconstructed Oshoin (Great Hall), the Museum of History, the Aoyama Historical Village with its collection of printing plates and antique books from the clan school, and the well-preserved Kawara-machi merchant district with its traditional townhouses. The museum's location in the samurai quarter makes it convenient to explore multiple historical sites on foot within the atmospheric castle town.
