An estate with a carpenter's workshop
The Kamiya Family Residence Carpenter's Room and Inner Japanese Room (神谷家住宅大工部屋及び奥和室, Kamiya-ke Jūtaku Daiku-beya oyobi Oku-washitsu) is a single-storey timber building of the early Taisho period in Izumicho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture, registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 April 2008. It runs 11 metres by 5.6 metres, 61 square metres in floor area, and stands on the northern boundary as one range with the miso storehouse and library.
The roof is gabled and tiled, with an eave 1.8 metres wide along the south side. On the north face the wall detailing matches that of the neighbouring building, so the two read from outside as a single continuous structure.
The carpenter's room, taken together with the south eave, has a tall interior. The Kamiya Family Residence Carpenter's Room and Inner Japanese Room carries registration number 23-0301.
Somewhere to keep building
The registration criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of Japan. The same estate has a plasterer's room; here is the carpenter's. The trade that works clay and the trade that works timber each had a place of their own.
An estate with fourteen registered buildings, and more besides once the main house is counted, is never finished. Construction ran across decades: the front reception room in early Meiji, the storehouses in mid-Meiji, the inner wing at the end of Meiji, and this building in early Taisho. Keeping a workshop on site is a reasonable answer to that condition.
The inner Japanese room is part of the same registration. Workshop and living space share one roof, which raises the possibility of a craftsman resident on the estate, although the primary record says nothing directly about how the space was used.
What to look for
The roof frame is the main event. The Agency for Cultural Affairs commentary describes the truss of the Kamiya Family Residence Carpenter's Room and Inner Japanese Room as an unusual beam assembly. When a carpenter builds his own workshop, the building becomes a demonstration piece, and departures from the standard framing pattern are likely to have that origin.
Ceiling height is the second point. By taking the space up into the south eave, the builders gained a tall internal volume. Handling long timber requires room to lift and swing it; the height answers a practical requirement.
Note also the north wall. Its detailing is matched to the adjacent miso storehouse and library, and the two buildings, each 11 metres long, run on together along the northern boundary. That side of the estate is composed as a single wall plane out of the pair.
Visiting and access
The building is part of a private home and is not open to the public. Standing on the northern boundary, it is difficult to see from the road. What visitors can look at is the outer perimeter of the estate, its main gate and fences. Photograph from the public road and not into the grounds. The City of Anjo asks the same of visitors to local historic buildings, most of which are privately owned.
Take the JR Tokaido Line to Anjo or Mikawa-Anjo Station, then the city Ankuru bus on the Nanbu line to Kaminokiri or Izumi Jozanen. Buses are infrequent, so check the timetable in advance. Seven minutes on foot to the south is Jozanen, a garden built by the city on the birthplace of the early Edo poet Ishikawa Jozan. Open 9:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:30, closed Mondays with the following day substituted for a national holiday, and over the new year.
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Q&A
- Is the Kamiya Family Residence Carpenter's Room and Inner Japanese Room open to visitors?
- No. It is part of a private home on the northern boundary of the compound and is hard to see even from the public road.
- How large is it?
- 11 metres by 5.6 metres, 61 square metres of floor area, single-storey timber of the early Taisho period, with an eave 1.8 metres wide on the south side.
- Why would an estate have a carpenter's room?
- Because a compound of this size required continual repair and rebuilding. The same estate also had a separate room for the plasterer.
- What is special about the roof structure?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as an unusual beam assembly. The workshop is also tall inside, which suits the handling of long timber.
- When was it registered?
- On 18 April 2008, under number 23-0301, together with thirteen other buildings on the estate.
Basic Information
| Name | Kamiya Family Residence Carpenter's Room and Inner Japanese Room (神谷家住宅大工部屋及び奥和室) |
|---|---|
| Location | 13 Kaminokiri, Izumicho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2008 (Heisei 20), registered |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Frontage 11 m, depth 5.6 m, floor area 61 square metres |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; exterior of the estate visible from the public road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Kamiya Family Residence Carpenter's Room and Inner Japanese Room
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007050
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kamiya Family Residence Carpenter's Room and Inner Japanese Room
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/172352
- City of Anjo: Historic Buildings
- https://www.city.anjo.aichi.jp/shisei/shisetsu/kyoikushisetsu/maibun-structure.html
- Anjo City Cultural Properties Catalogue: Kamiya Family Residence Main House
- https://www.katch.ne.jp/~anjomuse/bunkazai_zuroku/kamiyake_jyuutaku/index.html
- City of Anjo: Jozanen Garden
- https://www.city.anjo.aichi.jp/shisei/shisetsu/kyoikushisetsu/jozanen.html
Last verified: 2026.08.30