Former Residence of

literary giant

Shiga Naoya

An Intimate Window

into Japan’s Modern Literary Mind

The Former Residence of Shiga Naoya is a historic house in the Takabatake area of Nara, associated with one of modern Japan’s major novelists.

Completed in 1929, the residence was planned by Shiga himself and combines sukiya-style elements with selected Western features in a way that official sources describe as notably rational and progressive for its time.

Shiga lived here with his family for nine years, and the house became a gathering place for writers and other cultural figures, later remembered as the “Takabatake Salon.”

Visitors today can see spaces such as the study, dining room, and sunroom, which help explain both the daily life and working environment of the author during his Nara years.

For visitors, the residence offers a clear introduction to literary life, domestic design, and cultural exchange in early Showa-period Nara.

Explore the Sights

See photos that bring this location to life.

The image shows a traditional Japanese entrance gate with a tiled roof, wooden frame, and stone walls. There is a pathway leading inside with trees and foliage in the background. Various signs and notices are posted near the gate.
A traditional Japanese garden pathway with cobblestones, moss, and trees leading to a small wooden building with a tiled roof.
Interior of a room with a large arched window with grid bars, showing trees and blue rooftops outside, with warm sunlight casting shadows inside.
Strings of persimmons hanging to dry hang in front of a window, sunlight illuminating the scene, with a view of trees and rooftops outside.
Sunlight streams into a traditional Japanese room with tatami mats and shoji screens, revealing a scenic view of trees and mountains outside.
Inside a traditional Japanese room with wooden furniture and shoji windows showing a view of trees and rooftops outside at sunset.
Empty traditional Japanese room with sliding wooden doors, tatami mats, and framed photographs on a dark wooden shelf.
Traditional Japanese-style interior with wooden floors, shoji paper sliding doors, and tatami mat flooring.
Traditional Japanese room viewing a garden with rocks, bushes, and trees through an open sliding door.
Empty room with a large dining table, wooden chairs, and traditional Japanese windows, illuminated by a ceiling light and a space heater.
A long wooden hallway with traditional Japanese sliding paper doors and windows, warm lighting, and a polished wooden floor.
View of a traditional Japanese garden with trees and rocks, seen through large glass windows from a wooden corridor with sliding doors and white walls.
Interior of a traditional Japanese room with tatami mats, sliding shoji doors, and a view of a garden with trees outside.
View of a serene Japanese garden through sliding glass doors with wooden frames, showing trees and bushes with autumn foliage and a traditional building in the background.
Traditional Japanese shoji window with wooden frame and translucent paper panels in a room with tatami mats.
Interior of a traditional Japanese room with shoji sliding doors and a wooden lattice window, lit by warm natural light.
Traditional Japanese house with wooden exterior, surrounded by trees and outdoor seating area with wooden stools and a table, illuminated by warm sunlight during sunset.
A winding stone path through a garden with trees and bushes, next to a house with a window and bamboo blinds
A small pond with koi fish surrounded by moss and greenery, including a fern and other plants, with a small pink flower on the moss.
Traditional Japanese garden with a stone pathway, trees, shrubs, moss, and a wooden house with shoji door in the background.