About the Sasaki Family Residence Main House in Masuda
The Sasaki Family Residence Main House (佐々木家住宅主屋, Sasaki-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) in the Nakamachi quarter of Masuda, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, is a house built in 1949 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 7, 2009. It is a tall 2-storey timber building with a sheet-metal roof and a building area of 174 square meters.
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the house stands a little back from the street. Its gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) is set end-on (Tsumairi), so the triangular gable faces the street rather than the long side of the roof.
The same lot, Nakamachi 91, holds two more registered buildings under the name Former Sasatora Kimono Shop (Sasaki Family Residence): a main house with a zashiki storehouse, and a materials storehouse. All three were registered on the same day in 2009. The shop buildings date from 1884, 1897 and 1940, so the Sasaki Family Residence Main House is the youngest, a home built after the war.
A Postwar House in Masuda's Traditional Form
The Sasaki house in Masuda is register no. 05-0161, listed as a model of design.
What the Agency singles out is the street gable. Its upper part is white Shikkui plaster crossed by an exposed frame of beams and short posts, which the Agency describes as the traditional way of dressing a gable here.
Masuda's center is a street of townhouses in exactly this end-gabled form, and it was selected as a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 2013. Built in 1949, the Sasaki Family Residence Main House carries the same gabled front and the same white gable with its timber frame into the postwar years.
A Double-Height Passage and High Windows
Inside, a long earth-floored passage runs along the south side of the house, in the manner of a Toriniwa, with the rooms lined up to the north. The formal rooms for receiving guests are toward the front, nearest the street, and the kitchen and bedrooms are at the back.
The passage is open to the roof, a Fukinuke with no ceiling, and windows set high in the walls bring in plenty of daylight.
The Agency's short description pairs the two things a visitor would notice: the height of the house from outside, and the open passage lit from above within.
Visiting and Getting There
The Sasaki Family Residence Main House is a private home and is not open to the public. The Masuda Town Tourism Association says 19 traditional buildings in Masuda are open to visitors, but this house is not on its list, and neither are the Sasatora shop buildings.
You can see the exterior from the street. Since the house stands a little back from the road, look for the white plastered gable and its framework of beams and posts. Please do not enter the grounds, and photograph only from the street.
The tourism association's directions: from Jumonji Station on the JR Ou Line, take an Ugo Kotsu bus bound for Inaniwa, Nyudo or Kusanodai for about 10 minutes and get off at Masuda Kura no Eki or Yotsuyakado. A taxi from Jumonji Station also takes about 10 minutes. By car, leave the Yuzawa-Yokote Road at Jumonji IC, head toward Yuzawa on Route 13, then follow Route 342 toward Masuda for about 10 minutes. Free municipal parking is available around the Hotaru town information center and the Kura no Eki tourist center.
Q&A
- When was the Sasaki Family Residence Main House in Masuda built?
- In 1949. It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 7, 2009.
- Why is the Sasaki Family Residence Main House in Masuda a registered cultural property?
- It was registered as a model of design, above all for its traditional street gable of white plaster with an exposed frame of beams and posts.
- What is the layout of the Sasaki Family Residence Main House in Masuda?
- A double-height earth-floored passage runs along the south side, with reception rooms at the front and the kitchen and bedrooms at the back. High windows light the passage.
- Can I go inside the Sasaki Family Residence Main House in Masuda?
- No. It is a private home and is not among the houses the Masuda Town Tourism Association lists as open. The exterior can be seen from the street.
- How do I get to the Sasaki Family Residence Main House in Masuda?
- Take an Ugo Kotsu bus from Jumonji Station on the JR Ou Line for about 10 minutes to Masuda Kura no Eki or Yotsuyakado, or a taxi for about 10 minutes.
Basic Information
| Name | Sasaki Family Residence Main House (佐々木家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 91 Nakamachi, Masuda, Masuda-machi, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), register no. 05-0161 |
| Year Designated | Registered August 7, 2009 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey wooden building, sheet-metal roof, building area 174 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior from the street only) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Sasaki Family Residence Main House, Yokote (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00007712
- Cultural Heritage Online: Sasaki Family Residence Main House (Yokote)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/120584
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Sasatora Kimono Shop (Sasaki Family Residence) Main House and Zashiki Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00007713
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Sasatora Kimono Shop (Sasaki Family Residence) Materials Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00007715
- Yokote City Masuda: overview of the preservation district (Agency for Cultural Affairs, PDF, in Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/hozonchiku/pdf/94105901_06.pdf
- Access (Masuda Town Tourism Association, in Japanese)
- https://masuda-matta.com/acsess/
- FAQ (Masuda Town Tourism Association, in Japanese)
- https://masuda-matta.com/faq/
- List of traditional buildings (Masuda Town Tourism Association, in Japanese)
- https://masuda-matta.com/facility/
Last verified: 2026.09.27