Sustained by Tradition: Japanese Heritage Shōya House Moves to The Huntington

Moving a 320-year-old, 3,000-square-foot house some 6,000 miles is no small feat, but Yohko and Akira Yokoi entrusted the massive undertaking to The Huntington. Through the couple’s donation of their ancestral home, generations of visitors will have insights into Japanese culture and history, as well as traditional architectural, agricultural, and sustainability practices.

Members of the Yokoi family were former village administrators, known as shōya, of a farming district in Marugame, Japan. Their residence functioned as the local town hall, village square, and collection center for farmers’ taxes. The village administrators were responsible for preserving each year’s seed crop as well as organizing and managing the community.