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Built in 1819 by Miyara Pei-chin Toen, an official of the Ryukyu government who had been appointed administrator for the Miyara-Magiri, an administrative district that encompassed parts of Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island. This national important cultural property includes the one-storied building with hip tiled roof and the surrounding garden. (The latter is also designated as a national scenic beauty.)
The house is built in the modern Ryukyu style for residences of the nobility and originally included a red-tile roof. However, in the Ryukyu Kingdom the style of residences was regulated and prescribed in accordance with a person’s social status, and in 1874, the Pei-chin, whose rank was not high enough for a residence with a tile roof, was ordered to replace the original roof with a thatched roof. After the annexation of Ryukyu by Japan, in 1879, and the subsequent establishment of the prefecture of Okinawa, the roof was changed to a tile roof again.
There is a small admission fee of 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for children.
