Snow White

At the end of the Edo period, a wealthy farmer from Numakuma, Yamaji Kitani, moved Hakusetsu-ro onto his estate. He converted the Kikoutei pavilion that his grandfather Shigeyoshi had run in Kurodani, Kyoto, into a two-story tower and used it as a place for the study of Chinese classics, and many Chinese scholars have visited the building. Later, in 1892, Toshinao, the 9th head of the Yorii family, who had a deep attachment to Hakusetsu-ro, moved it to Takehara and used it as his Ryushunkyo residence. It was donated to Shimokamagari town free of charge by the Takehara Yorii family (Shunpu-kan). The building's components are inscribed with ink to indicate their exact locations, and the interior is an elaborate architectural style. The Japanese-style room on the first floor with movable walls is a particularly valuable example, of which there are very few remaining today.