[Image: Kazuhiko Matsumura "Heartstrings" ©Kyoto Shimbun Newspaper]

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This historically valuable machiya building is designated as a Tangible Cultural Property by the City of Kyoto and as the site of the Kyoto Prefectural Medical History Research Association. This machiya was completed in 1926 by Risuke Inoue IV, the most wealthy merchant in Muromachi, and was built with the utmost in luxury. While incorporating the most advanced technology and fashions of the time, the design is a combination of Japanese and Western styles, offering a glimpse of a different era in architectural history. Enjoy the austere yet opulent scene that preserves the original appearance of the period.