The former Doi Family Residence was originally located in the former Shin Tone Village (present Inashiki City, Ibaraki Prefecture). It is a very old private residence built in the early and middle years of the Edo Period. The residence comprises of two buildings: the main house and the hermitage. This building is the hermitage.
The age of the hermitage was determined when a piece of building material with the inscription Hoei 3-nen (the year 1706) written in sumi or Japanese ink was found in this building.
The two buildings are symmetrical and look quite similar but have different intervals between the pillars; thus, the hermitage is smaller.
The roof of the hermitage has a soffit under the eaves called a “segai” (the word is derived from a Japanese wooden ship); thus, the hermitage has deeper and higher eaves compared to the main house.