Located a 15-minute walk from Takawashi Station on the Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line, Yoshimura-tei was home to the Yoshimura Family, who were ancestors of the feudal warlord Sasaki Takatsuna (1160–1214). Witness to the end of the Heian court and the beginning of the Kamakura shogunate, Takatsuna’s exploits were retold in the Tale of the Heike (mid-14th century). Later on during the 17th and 18th centuries, the men of the Yoshimura Family were powerful headmen who represented the 18 villages that covered the area now occupied by Habikino City. Though destroyed by fire during the Siege of Osaka’s summer campaign (1615), the residence was immediately rebuilt. At present, the main building is the same structure as it was rebuilt in the early 17th century. The other structures (e.g., the second front gate, the mortar storehouse), the 1.3 acre (5,289m²) lot, and the forested mountains in the backdrop are all near-identical to how they were following the extensions and renovations of the Kansei era (1789–1801). A leading example of the home of wealthy agriculturalists, Yoshimura-tei was the very first example of a private residence registered nationally as an Important Cultural Property owing to its preservation (in part) of the shoin-zukuri architectural style of the Momoyama period (1573–1603). Tours must be booked in advance. (Photo courtesy of Habikino City Board of Education)