Lafcadio Hearn Old Residence

Western Honshū


A small late 19th-century samurai house with pretty gardens where the writer lived. You can still see the desk where he penned his classic collection, Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan, which contains his famous essay on Matsue – 'Chief City of the Province of the Gods' – and the Japanese ghost stories of Kwaidan.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Western Honshū attractions

2. Buke Yashiki Samurai Residence

0.1 MILES

You'll take lots of pictures as you stroll around this immaculately preserved house and garden, built for a middle-ranking samurai family during the early…

3. Matsue-jō

0.29 MILES

Dating from 1611, picturesque Matsue-jō has a wooden interior showcasing treasures belonging to the Matsudaira clan. Known as 'Plover Castle' for the…

4. Matsue History Museum

0.34 MILES

Matsue's excellent modern museum gives a broad-ranging introduction to the history of the regional clans and development of local industry and crafts…

5. Shimane Prefectural Art Museum

1.35 MILES

With its white undulating roof and huge glass windows facing the lake, the museum building itself is an impressive sight. Inside, it displays rotating…

6. Yūshien Garden

7.15 MILES

This pretty garden occupying an area of around 40,000 sq metres was established privately in 1975 on Lake Nakaumi's Daikonshima Island, between Matsue and…

7. Adachi Museum of Art

10.65 MILES

Local businessman and art collector Adachi Zenkō founded this excellent museum, located east of Matsue in Yasugi. The collection includes over 100…

8. Mizuki Shigeru Museum

11.25 MILES

This multimedia museum displays manga artist Mizuki Shigeru's illustrations, artwork, and personal collection of masks and folklore paraphernalia. Audio…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "japan/western-honshu/matsue/attractions/lafcadio-hearn-old-residence/a/poi-sig/1233329/356842",
      "destination": "Western-Honshū",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "Japan",
      "region": "Western-Honshū",
      "position": "superzone"
    }