Museum · Zoshigaya

Zoshigaya Missionary Museum 雑司が谷旧宣教師館

A white clapboard 1907 house built by American missionary John Moody McCaleb, one of the oldest wooden Western-style homes in Tokyo, free to wander and set in a leafy residential lane.

Hours9:00–16:30

ClosedMondays (Tue if Mon is a holiday); 3rd Sunday; day after holidays; year-end

PriceFree

Getting thereHigashi-Ikebukuro Station (Yurakucho Line) Exit 5, 10 min; Toden Higashi-Ikebukuro-yonchome, 8 min

Time needed30 min

Best timeWeekday mornings

Address1-25-5 Zoshigaya, Toshima City, Tokyo

About

This modest two-storey house was built in 1907 by John Moody McCaleb, a missionary from Tennessee who lived and preached in Zoshigaya for decades. It is a rare example of American suburban carpenter-gothic style in Japan, with a gabled roof, bay windows, painted clapboard and simple, airy rooms. Restored by Toshima City and designated a Tokyo cultural property, it now displays furniture of the period and exhibits on McCaleb and on the literary figures who lived in Zoshigaya. Entry is free, and on quiet mornings you may be the only visitor. Zoshigaya Cemetery, resting place of Natsume Soseki, Lafcadio Hearn and Nagai Kafu, is a few minutes away.

Highlights

1907 American-style wooden house, one of Tokyo's oldest Western homes
Painted clapboard, gabled roof and bay windows in a quiet lane
Period furniture and exhibits on missionary life and local writers
Tokyo-designated tangible cultural property
Free entry

Tips

Closed Mondays and the third Sunday of each month.
Combine with Zoshigaya Cemetery (Soseki, Hearn, Kafu) and Kishimojin-do for a half-day walk.
Slippers are provided; carry a bag for shoes.
Higashi-Ikebukuro Station (Yurakucho Line) is about 10 minutes' walk.

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

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Zoshigaya Missionary Museum 雑司が谷旧宣教師館

About

Highlights

Tips

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