Odano House: City-Designated Historic Site
The Odano family served the North Satake clan, Kakunodate’s rulers, through their relationship with the Imamiya family. This house belonged to descendants of Odano Naotake (1749–1780), who was the illustrator of the first Japanese translation of a Western medical textbook, Kaitai shinsho, originally a Dutch translation of the German anatomy book Anatomische Tabellen.
The current house, which is open to the public, preserves the original design of the Edo-period dwelling that burned down in 1900. Known for its elegant Kyoto-style garden, the front yard of the Odano house has tall fir trees and maples, irises, and bamboo grass. This type of garden was common in samurai residences toward the end of the Edo period (1603–1867).