Museum · Tsurukawa / Machida

Buaiso (Former Shirasu Residence) 旧白洲邸 武相荘

The thatched farmhouse in the Machida hills where the diplomat Shirasu Jiro and essayist Shirasu Masako lived a famously stylish country life from 1943. Their rooms, antiques, books and kimono are preserved in a woodland garden with a restaurant.

About

Shirasu Jiro was a Cambridge-educated, Bentley-driving aide to Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru who helped negotiate Japan's postwar settlement. In 1943, foreseeing defeat, he and his wife Masako, a writer and connoisseur of antiques and Noh, bought an old farmhouse in rural Tsurukawa. They named it Buaiso, a pun on "buaiso" (unsociable) and the two old provinces of Musashi and Sagami. The house is kept much as they left it, with Masako's collection of old ceramics, lacquer and textiles, Jiro's workshop and the Japanese study where she wrote. It is surrounded by bamboo and woods. A restaurant and café on site serve lunch and drinks. It is a pilgrimage for Japanese design lovers and a lesson in living beautifully.

Highlights

• A preserved thatched farmhouse with the Shirasus' antiques and books
• Masako's ceramics, lacquer and kimono collection
• Jiro's workshop and stories of his postwar diplomacy
• A bamboo and woodland garden walk
• An on-site restaurant and café

Tips

• Ticket B (garden and restaurant only) is a cheaper option if you just want lunch and a stroll.
• Machida residents get a discount. Junior-high students and younger are free (with conditions).
• Walk 15 min from Tsurukawa Station's north exit or take a short bus ride.
• Closed Mondays, plus summer and winter breaks. Check the calendar on the website.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Machida Squirrel Garden & Yakushiike ParkZoo & Aquarium · 2.8 km away
• Machida Dahlia GardenGarden · 3.8 km away
• Tama Yokoyama PathLocal Secret · 4.2 km away
• Sanrio PurolandTheme Park · 5.8 km away
• YomiurilandTheme Park · 5.9 km away
• Sakuragaoka ParkPark · 6.1 km away
• Iroha-zaka & Seiseki-Sakuragaoka (Whisper of the Heart)Local Secret · 6.8 km away
• One Ryokudo (Machida Ridge Path)Photo Spot · 7.2 km away