The Nabari Todo Family Residence Ruins are located in Nabari, a town that flourished as a castle town under the Todo clan during the Edo period (1603–1868). The residence was established in 1636 by Todo Takayoshi, a member of the Todo family that ruled the Tsu Domain. His family maintained its residence in Nabari for 11 generations.
The buildings that remain today were reconstructed after the original residence was destroyed in the Great Nabari Fire of 1710. Surviving structures include sections known as the Nakaoku, Iwai-no-ma, and Kakoi, which formed part of the family’s private living quarters.
As one of the relatively few surviving residences of a high-ranking samurai family, the site is a valuable cultural heritage asset. Its remaining architecture offers visitors a glimpse into the lifestyle and prosperity of the samurai elite during the Edo period.
Nabari Jinya was a fortified administrative residence located in what is now Nabari City. Part of the former compound is open to the public as the Nabari Todo Family Residence Ruins. Todo Takayoshi, the first head of the family to reside there, established the compound on land previously occupied by retainers of the Tsutsui clan, the area’s former rulers.
To encourage the growth of Nabari as a castle town, Takayoshi brought merchants and craftspeople with him from his former territory in Imabari. Their arrival helped support the town’s commercial and economic development.
After the Great Nabari Fire of 1710 destroyed the residence, the surviving buildings were reconstructed. Most of the complex was demolished in 1868, at the beginning of the Meiji period, but some residential sections remain today.
The surviving residence is an unusually rare example of the living environment of high-ranking samurai and is designated as a cultural property of Mie Prefecture. It provides a valuable opportunity to explore the architectural heritage and daily life of Japan’s former warrior class.