What the Main House Is
The Sasaki Family Residence Main House (佐々木家住宅主屋, Sasaki-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) in Maego, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture, is a landowner's home built in 1914 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 14, 2002. It is a single-storey timber house under a hipped roof of pantiles (Yosemune-zukuri, Sangawara-buki), with a building area of 158 square meters.
Shinkichiro, eighth head of the Sasaki family, built it in the middle of the estate, facing roughly south. A later generation opened a dental practice inside, and the house has held both a home and a clinic ever since.
A Japanese-Style House with a Clinic Inside
The main house is register no. 05-0075, listed as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as one of the few surviving examples in the provinces of a traditional Japanese house that doubles as a medical clinic.
The plan turns on a 15-mat room at the center, around which, in the Agency's words, the other rooms are skilfully arranged. The dental surgery and its waiting room occupy the southeast corner, and there is also a telephone room.
Two entrances, on the south and east sides, each carry a small gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri). The south porch is the family's front door; the east one served the clinic, giving the practice an entrance of its own. The little brick urinal of the same years stands just in front of it.
From the Front Porch to the Telephone Room
Yurihonjo City picks out several details of the Sasaki Family Residence Main House. The central front porch has a ceiling curved like the inside of a boat's hull, and its gable carries a Gegyo board carved with clouds and water.
Inside are fine-slatted Osa-ranma transoms and cedar doors painted with cherry trees.
The city singles out the telephone room as especially rare for its day: a small booth whose glazed door is lettered with the words for telephone room. On the plan in the city leaflet it sits beside the tokonoma alcove.
A newer house stands to the north, reached from the main house by an arched bridge that, on the leaflet's plan, leaves from the north corridor.
Visiting the Main House
The Sasaki main house is still lived in and is not open to the public; we found no occasion on which the central room, clinic or telephone room can be seen.
From the street you can take in the big hipped roof with its gabled porches, and the carved gable over the front entrance. Please stay outside the grounds and photograph only from the road. Directions to the estate are on the Sasaki Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Akita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Sasaki Family Residence Main House
- [ Kakunodate Samurai District & Lake Tazawa Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Sasaki Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1914, by Shinkichiro, the eighth head of the Sasaki family.
- Why is the Sasaki Family Residence Main House a registered cultural property?
- It was registered on February 14, 2002, as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a rare provincial example of a Japanese-style house combined with a clinic.
- Where is the dental clinic in the Sasaki Family Residence Main House?
- The surgery and waiting room are in the southeast corner, with their own entrance on the east side.
- What is the telephone room in the Sasaki Family Residence Main House?
- A small room set aside for the telephone, with its name lettered on the glass of the door. The city describes it as very rare for its time.
- Can I go inside the Sasaki Family Residence Main House?
- No. It is a private home and is not open to visitors. The exterior can be seen from the street.
Basic Information
| Name | Sasaki Family Residence Main House (佐々木家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 207 Maego, Maego, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), register no. 05-0075 |
| Year Designated | Registered February 14, 2002 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey wooden building, tiled roof, building area 158 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 (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002587
- Cultural Heritage Online: Sasaki Family Residence Main House (Yurihonjo)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/115667
- Sasaki Family Residence (Yurihonjo City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.yurihonjo.lg.jp/1001503/1002098/1002113/1002126/1003555.html
- Sasaki Residence leaflet (Yurihonjo City, PDF, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.yurihonjo.lg.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/003/555/1003555_001.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.27
