Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm

This historic farmhouse, Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm, stands in Ise-saki city in Gunma Prefecture -- a center of silkworm farming since the Edo period.
This mid-19th century house is where farmer Tajima Yahei devised a ventilation method that helped modernize Japan's sericulture techniques.
Despite Ise-saki's thriving silkworm industry, silkworm farmers had trouble producing high-quality eggs on a consistent basis.
The ventilation system called "Seiryo-iku" focused on natural ventilation, and was applied to Tajima's two-story farmhouse. Under this method, a small roof (yagura) is installed above the main roof. This architectural style became the prototype of modern sericulture farmhouses across Japan.
The Tajima house remains exactly the same as when it was built, including the rooms where silkworms were grown. The structure is a national historic site.
The farmhouse is near the former residence of another key figure in Japan's industrial modernization, Shibusawa Eiichi. He is the founder of Japan's first modern factory, Tomioka Silk Mill. The mill is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.