About the Former Katano Family Residence Main House
The Former Katano Family Residence Main House (旧片野家住宅主屋, Kyū Katano-ke Jūtaku Omoya) is a timber dwelling in Hagurocho, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, built in the mid-Meiji era (1883 to 1897), altered in the early Showa era, and entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on March 6, 2024. It is single-story with a partial second floor, roofed in sheet metal, and covers 327 square meters.
The Katano main house sits in the middle of the estate and faces east toward the front gate. Three storehouses are joined straight onto it: brick to the southwest, the middle storehouse to the northwest and the miso storehouse to the north. Of the five registered structures on the estate, it is the only dwelling and the only one with living rooms upstairs.
Four Wings Around a Courtyard
Although registered as a single building, the Former Katano Family Residence Main House is planned around an inner courtyard. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes four parts arranged around it: an entrance and reception wing, a zashiki wing of formal rooms, a great-hall wing and a north corridor. Yokote City notes the complex roofline that results.
Guests arrived at an entrance framed by a karahafu, the undulating, bow-shaped gable reserved in Japan for entrances of rank. The 2023 report recommending registration adds that the entrance has a shikidai, a raised step for formal greetings, and that the reception rooms include a Western-style room alongside the Japanese ones.
Deeper inside, the formal wing and the great-hall wing hold tatami rooms (Zashiki) finished in carefully chosen timber. Rooms large and small could be opened up or kept apart to suit the size of a gathering. This was a house built to receive people.
Why the Main House Was Registered
The Former Katano Family Residence Main House was registered under the criterion of serving as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a refined piece of modern Japanese-style domestic architecture, with formal rooms built of fine timber.
Yokote City is more specific. It singles out the well-judged proportions of the great-hall wing and the quality of the materials and finishes. It also points to the shared design of the ground-floor and upper-floor halls, the flow between garden and interior, and the contrast between opulent rooms and the plain, unpainted timber of the Sukiya-zukuri manner. In the city's words, the design and spaces expected of a prosperous modern household are distilled here.
For a foreign visitor, the interest lies partly in the mix. Traditional formal rooms and a Western-style parlor sit under one roof, reflecting how well-to-do families of the Meiji and early Showa years received guests.
What to Look For
Start with the karahafu entrance on the east side of the Katano main house. Step through the front gate into the forecourt and it is directly ahead of you, clearly the formal face of the house.
The main garden spreads to the southeast. The city ranks the proportions of the great-hall wing first among the building's merits, so when you look back at the house from the garden, notice how its roof and walls are balanced.
The upstairs halls echo those below. The national database includes a photograph of the alcove (Tokonoma) in the north hall on the second floor; if the upper floor is open when you visit, compare it with the rooms downstairs.
From the south you can see the red wall of the brick storehouse butting against the southwest corner of the house. A timber house running straight into a brick storehouse is one of the more unusual sights on the estate.
Visiting the Main House
You can enter the Former Katano Family Residence Main House only on days when Yokote City opens the buildings. On garden-only days the house stays closed and you see it from outside. The upper floor is not always included, so check the notice for the day.
From the street the main house is almost entirely hidden by the gate and wall. Indoors, follow the on-site instructions on photography and avoid touching the tatami and sliding doors. Open days, directions and contact details are on the Former Katano Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Former Katano Family Residence Main House built?
- The national database dates it to the mid-Meiji era (1883 to 1897), with alterations in the early Showa era. A Yokote City survey sheet places it more broadly in the Meiji to Taisho eras, so the exact year is not known.
- How big is the Former Katano Family Residence Main House?
- It covers 327 square meters. It is a timber building, single-story with a partial second floor, with a sheet-metal roof, arranged around an inner courtyard.
- Why is the Former Katano Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on March 6, 2024, as a model of design: a high-quality modern Japanese-style house with a karahafu entrance and formal rooms built of fine timber.
- Can I go inside the Former Katano Family Residence Main House?
- Only on days when Yokote City opens the buildings. There are no regular opening hours, and on garden-only open days the house is closed.
- How is the Former Katano Family Residence Main House connected to the storehouses?
- The brick storehouse joins it at the southwest, the middle storehouse at the northwest and the miso storehouse on the north. All three are two-story storehouses.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Katano Family Residence Main House (旧片野家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 65 Hagurocho, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2024 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 327 square meters (timber, single-story with partial second floor, sheet-metal roof) |
| Owner | Yokote City |
| Public Access | Interior open only on days set by Yokote City |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Katano Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014710
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Katano Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/553748
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs report on new registrations of structures (November 24, 2023)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/93969901.html
- Yokote City: About the Former Katano Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.city.yokote.lg.jp/shisei/1001176/1001456/1010279.html
- Yokote City: Historic Landscape Building Sheet No. 1, Former Katano Family Residence (Japanese, PDF)
- https://www.city.yokote.lg.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/005/045/000155531.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.29
