The traditional machiya architecture is reflective of Japan’s past through the ages. A tangible form of history, 'machiya' are traditional Japanese wooden townhouses that can still be found throughout Japan today. Today, a machiya townhouse’s architectural design, material, and space not only serve as a place of residence, but are symbols to bring together the past and present.
THE MACHIYA EBISUYA is a ‘Design Machiya Hotel' located in downtown Kyoto, Japan. Offering guests 30 rooms with colorful & rich designs, choose to stay in a Japanese or Western-style suite, rooms with kitchens, connecting rooms, and more for an experience that unites traditions to the modern world.
Bringing Together Traditions
Machiya architectural designs are influenced by its function, carpentry, region, and more.
THE MACHIYA EBISUYA hotel incorporates traditional Kyoto-style machiya carpentry skills & designs into each space. Discover rooms featuring the Japanese wood joinery technique known as ‘tsugite’, which unites wooden beams together without the use of modern-day screws or fasteners. The butterfly joinery that holds 2 pieces of wood together is a shape known as 'chigiri'. Look up towards the ceiling to find an ‘Ajiro’ ceiling - a pattern that weaves together strips of bamboo to recreate a feature typically found in tea rooms of Kyoto machiya.
Bringing Together Spaces
Combining a historical wooden machiya with a modern structure into a singular space.
With the use of newer innovative materials, THE MACHIYA EBISUYA hotel recreates traditional aesthetics from a modern perspective. The exterior features ‘koshi’-like latticework of machiya windows, to allow for the perfect amount of natural light to brighten up our guest rooms. Our Western-style suites feature vivid colors, which at first glance read as contemporary, but are in fact prominent features in Kyoto's long history. The vibrant ‘Kyo-murasaki’ purple, indigo ‘ai-iro’ hue, and more are colors that bring a traditional design into a modern space.
Bringing Together Materials
A visual masterpiece that incorporates pieces of history throughout the property.
THE MACHIYA EBISUYA hotel repurposes various materials of a Kyo-machiya within its design and artwork, ensuring a continuation of the architecture’s history. Wooden beams used throughout our Japanese-style suites, and large stone lanterns found in our garden were all a part of the hotel's original machiya architecture. Room artwork not only take inspiration from, but also incorporates stone, wood, and other materials that originated from THE MACHIYA EBISUYA hotel's former machiya building.
