Oka House
The Oka House is a well-preserved samurai residence that during the Edo period (1603–1867) was occupied by a mid-ranking official serving under the Omori magistrate, the central government’s representative overseeing the silver mine. The heads of the Sawai and Shikano families that lived in the house successively held the post of overseer for storage of the silver mined and refined at Iwami Ginzan before its shipment to the government’s coffers in Edo (present-day Tokyo). The heavy responsibility for this task was well compensated, allowing for the building of a spacious residence not far from the magistrate’s office, though some way off the Omori main street. The house, named after its owner when it was designated a historic site in 1974, consists of a main building with a front garden and two entrances (the larger of which was opened only for important guests), a small detached structure housing the bathing facilities, a fire-resistant storehouse, and a shed. The Oka House is not open to visitors.