What the Urinal Is
The Sasaki Family Residence Urinal (佐々木家住宅小便所, Sasaki-ke Jūtaku Shōbenjo) in Maego, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture, is a single-storey brick urinal built around 1914 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 14, 2002. Under its sheet-metal roof it covers just 2.8 square meters.
It stands on the east side of the Sasaki estate, right in front of the east entrance of the main house that served the family's dental clinic. It is by far the smallest of the four registered buildings, less than the area of two tatami mats.
Why Something So Small Was Registered
The Sasaki Family Residence Urinal is register no. 05-0078, listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs admits that it is tiny, but calls it essential to understanding how a modern Japanese estate was put together.
A house, a villa and a storehouse show only part of how an estate worked. With an outbuilding like this still standing beside the clinic door, the everyday workings of a 1910s household become easier to read.
The city leaflet adds that brick lavatories are rare even within Akita Prefecture, and that this one is distinctive in its details.
English Bond and Two Kinds of Arch
The building is a little gabled shed (Kirizuma-zukuri) running north to south, its walls laid in English bond, English bond, with courses of stretchers and headers alternating.
The doorway is on the south side and has a sheet-iron door. According to the city leaflet, its head is a quarter-circle arch. The west wall has a window under a segmental arch, a shallower curve than a semicircle, fitted with a pair of glazed timber casements to match.
Above the arches on the front and side, bricks set corner-out form a sawtooth band that the city singles out as the design's accent. Two kinds of arch and a decorative course, all on a building of 2.8 square meters.
Visiting the Urinal
The Sasaki Family Residence Urinal is inside a private estate and is not open to the public. Standing in front of the east entrance of the main house, it may or may not be visible from the road depending on where you stand.
Please stay outside the grounds and look, or photograph, only from the street. 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 Urinal
- [ Kakunodate Samurai District & Lake Tazawa Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Sasaki Family Residence Urinal built?
- Around 1914, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs database, the same period as the main house.
- Why is the Sasaki Family Residence Urinal a registered cultural property?
- It was registered on February 14, 2002, for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency calls it essential to understanding the layout of a modern estate.
- How big is the Sasaki Family Residence Urinal?
- Its building area is 2.8 square meters, the smallest of the four registered buildings on the estate.
- How is the brickwork of the Sasaki Family Residence Urinal laid?
- In English bond, with a quarter-circle arch over the door, a segmental arch over the west window and a sawtooth band above the arches.
- Can visitors see the Sasaki Family Residence Urinal?
- It stands inside a private estate and is not open to the public.
Basic Information
| Name | Sasaki Family Residence Urinal (佐々木家住宅小便所) |
|---|---|
| Location | 207 Maego, Maego, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), register no. 05-0078 |
| Year Designated | Registered February 14, 2002 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey brick building, sheet-metal roof, building area 2.8 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Sasaki Family Residence Urinal (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002590
- Cultural Heritage Online: Sasaki Family Residence Urinal
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/187320
- 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
- Sasaki Family Residence (Yurihonjo City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.yurihonjo.lg.jp/1001503/1002098/1002113/1002126/1003555.html
Last verified: 2026.09.27
