Rooms
History of the building
Though reborn as ‘seppa’ and opening its doors to its first guests in April 2026, the building itself was first constructed in 1918. The personal residence of a master carpenter, it was he who built the Nakazaki Residence, a nationally registered cultural property that also sits in Bizen Fukuoka.
Architecture
Built with a traditional Japanese gabled construction, every element of the interior, from the tokonoma (alcove), to the ceiling and ranma (transoms), bursts with a sense of playfulness. Look anywhere and you will be rewarded with new examples of the aesthetic sense and consummate skill of their designer.
Swords
Carpentry
Planks, on which can be read the entire life story of the tree; pillars that preserve the natural gnarls and burls of the original log; the fine hatchet marks that give the woodwork its texture. The fixtures which so evidence the craftsman’s intimate understanding of each material, carved as they are to cleverly imitate bamboo; the interplay of the light on the wood grain; the deep colour of the wood, formed over a century. Shaped by the hands of masters, accounting for all of the wood’s subtle intricacies, the woodwork exudes a sense of meditative stillness and warmth that only something handmade can give.
Garden
Look out onto the carefully arranged stone garden and experience as the passage of time dyes it new shades, heralding the arrival of each changing season and bringing a renewed serenity to the house. It is the great care paid to even these slight details that gives the building its unique charm.
Traditional crafts and Osafune
An approach that places importance on every minutely crafted detail. Quietly forged and perfected over centuries within the workshops of this town’s sword industry, this mind-set still continues to resonate. Born of fire, iron, and human ingenuity, a tradition of dedicated craftsmanship is still evident in Osafune today.
On the first floor, on a decorative shelf created by the master carpenter who once resided here, sit real Japanese art swords, their beautiful shape and glittering, delicately wrought steel quietly accentuating the atmosphere of the room. Meanwhile, an omamorigatana amulet dagger is exhibited in the second floor bedroom, providing spiritual protection to all who sleep there.
Swords were originally far more than just weapons, acting as talismans and repositories for one’s faith. Rather than just admiring them, our aim is to give guests a chance to experience living alongside swords as a part of everyday life.