Former Saito Family Residence Main House

A Thatched Farmhouse in Kamishiki

The Former Saito Family Residence Main House (旧齋藤家住宅主屋, Kyū-Saitō-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a thatched, hip-roofed house built in 1901 in the Kamishiki district of Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 28, 2017. Owned by Matsudo City, it is open to the public under the name Kyu-Saito-tei (旧齋藤邸, the former Saito residence).

The house faces south and measures 7 by 4 and a half bays, with a building area of 130 square metres under a Yosemune-zukuri roof of Kayabuki thatch. It sits on a plot of about 5,500 square metres that also holds a thatched annex, a workshop for making bamboo paper, a gate and a large bamboo grove to the north. Only the main house is registered.

The name tells only part of the story. The farmhouse was built in 1901 and later bought by Saito Yuzo, a university professor, who extended the house and laid out the garden. In 1998 his widow, Saito Toshi, donated the property to Matsudo City so that it could be used for lifelong learning and culture.

Why It Was Registered

The Former Saito Family Residence Main House was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a farmhouse in a tradition reaching back to the Edo period to which modern elements were added, and says it conveys the local landscape of the early modern era. Matsudo City puts it slightly differently: the house follows the typical farmhouse form of the Kamishiki area while taking on features of modern Japanese-style architecture throughout.

The farmhouse skeleton shows in the raised-floor section, which is a four-room plan, the arrangement of rooms in a rough grid that is common in rural houses of the Kanto region. Modern touches sit on top of it. At the western end is a formal entrance with a Shikidai step, a dignified way in for guests built into a farmer's plan.

The other feature to know about is above the earthen-floored Doma. Here straight, sawn beams are laid in a lattice like the character for well (井) and covered with a ceiling. Farmhouse kitchens more often left curved log beams exposed, so the tidy lattice of straight timber and the ceiling over it read as a sign of late Meiji taste.

What to Look For

Start at the front gate and take in the south face of the house. The broad thatched hip roof dominates everything, and its mass sets the character of the whole building. The roof is rethatched section by section, and in 2017 the south side was renewed by Takemura Kin'ichi, described by the city as the only thatcher working in Matsudo.

Inside, look up at the ceiling over the earthen floor. The lattice of straight beams is one of the reasons the Former Saito Family Residence Main House was registered and the clearest sign of the modern additions. Then go round to the formal entrance at the western end to see how a ceremonial doorway was fitted into a farmhouse.

The garden deserves as much time as the house. Bamboo, plum and pine grow alongside plants that flower through the year. According to the city's calendar, plum blossoms from mid-February to early March, flowering peach and magnolia from mid-March to mid-April, hydrangeas in June and July, and pampas grass from mid-September to early November. Few places in Matsudo still offer a thatched roof framed by seasonal planting like this.

Bamboo from the grove is used to make chikushi, a paper made from bamboo fibre that originated in China, and visitors can try papermaking in the workshop on the grounds.

Visiting

The Former Saito Family Residence Main House can generally be visited without a reservation, and admission is free. It is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (last entry 3:30 p.m.). It is closed on Sundays, Mondays, public holidays and over the New Year from December 28 to January 4, and may occasionally close at short notice.

Reservations are needed for groups of 10 or more, for a guided explanation by the caretaker and for the bamboo papermaking session (usually Saturdays, free of charge); book through Matsudo City's online application system. The tatami rooms of the main house can also be rented for cultural and study activities, and visitors are still admitted while they are in use. Smoking is not allowed anywhere on the grounds. The city's guidance says nothing specific about photography, but be considerate of anyone using the rooms on event days.

By train, the house is about 13 minutes on foot from the west exit of Higashi-Matsudo Station on the JR Musashino Line and the Hokuso Line, and the city publishes an illustrated walking guide. From the east exit of JR Matsudo Station, a bus to the Kanakusudai stop takes about 20 minutes, followed by a walk of about 10 minutes. There is parking for about 5 cars on the side opposite the main gate, but spaces are few and the city asks visitors to use public transport.