The headman of Nakano village was always drawn from the Hirokane family. During the lare Edo period (1603-1868), Motoharu Hirokane (second head of the family) made his fortune by running a copper mine. He manufactured melanterite, the raw material used to make bengara. The magnificent residence has a garden with a distinctive rock water feature known as a suikinkutsu (water harp). A separate reception room with tatami mats was built later during the Taisho era (1912-1926), adding to the sense of grandeur.
Opposite the residence is a Shinto shrine, the Amahiro Jinja, built in the early part of the Meiji era (1868-1912). Reserved for the exclusive use of the Hirokane family, it has its own shrine office and an extensive Japanese garden of flowering trees and shrubs, complete with a pond, stone lanterns, and stone-carved guardian dogs.
The Hirokane residence came to public prominence after being used as a location for the film Yatsuhakamura (Village with Eight Tombs) in 1977 and again during a remake in 1996.

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