Imanishi Family Residence

...A town in the former Takaichi district, part of Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture. It is famous for its historical streetscape, which preserves the traditions of moated settlements, temple towns, and townspeople's houses (machiya). Imai-cho was founded in the mid-16th century (Tenbun era) by Toyohisa, a Hyobukyo (minister of military affairs) of Osaka Hongan-ji Temple, who built Imai Gobo (Shounen-ji Temple) as an Ikko sect training center in Imai-sho, west of Yagi, the central post town of Minamiyamato, and opened a temple town by gathering his followers, ronin and merchants. The town area was four blocks square, and was fortified with a moat around the perimeter. In 1575 (Tensho 3), it surrendered to Oda Nobunaga, but because it was a sister town of Sakai, the rule of successive Hyobukyo Imai was recognized as a temple town, and the Tokugawa shogunate also recognized this.

*Some of the terms mentioned in relation to the Imanishi House are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…奈良県橿原市に属する旧高市郡の一町。環濠集落，寺内町（じないちよう），町人住宅(町屋（まちや）)街の伝統を伝え，その歴史的町並みが有名である。今井町は16世紀半ば(天文年代)に大坂本願寺の兵部卿法印豊寿が南大和の中心的宿場町八木の西方の今井庄に一向宗道場として今井御坊(称念寺)を建立，門徒の浪人や商人らを集めて寺内町を開いた。町域は4町四方，外周には水濠をめぐらして要塞化した。1575年(天正3)に織田信長に屈服したが，堺と姉妹町の関係にあったため，寺内町として今井兵部卿歴代の支配が認められ，徳川幕府もこれを承認した。…

※「今西家住宅」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報