Ishibashi Family Residence (Narita)

A Meiji Gate and Three Storehouses of a Leading Farming Family

The Ishibashi Family Residence (石橋家住宅, Ishibashi-ke Jūtaku) in Kuizaki, Narita City, Chiba Prefecture, is the Meiji-period (1868–1911) homestead of a wealthy landholding farm family, and its gate and three storehouses were registered together as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on July 8, 1999.

Kuizaki belonged to Daiei Town in Katori District until the town was absorbed into Narita in 2006. The Chiba Prefectural Board of Education describes the Ishibashi household as one of the foremost gōnō, or landed farming families, of the former town, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs, writing while Daiei was still a town, uses much the same words.

Narita City says all four buildings date from the Meiji era and have been kept in good repair, so the homestead still carries the bearing of a prosperous farm estate. The main house is not part of the registration.

Visitors searching online may also find a second Ishibashi Family Residence, a registered townhouse in Hirata, Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture. It is an unrelated property.

How the Ishibashi Family Residence Meets the Road

Reading the national database entries together shows how the Ishibashi Family Residence presents itself to the road. The gate stands in the middle. The South Storehouse sits to its south and the East Storehouse to its north, both running north to south with their long, entrance-bearing sides (Hirairi) turned toward the road.

There are no gaps in this front. A side door for everyday use fills the space between the gate and the South Storehouse, and a short flanking wall (Sodobei) closes the space on the East Storehouse side. The South Storehouse has the lower parts of its road-facing and north walls clad in clapboard held by notched battens, known as sasarago Shitami-itabari, to keep the roadside view of gate and storehouses consistent.

The fourth building, simply called the Storehouse, stands inside the grounds northwest of the East Storehouse, its ridge running east to west. It is a Zashiki-gura, a storehouse with finished rooms, entered through a porch with a hip-and-gable roof (Irimoya-zukuri) on its south side. Its purpose and its level of finish set it apart from the three buildings on the road.

What Was Registered at the Ishibashi Family Residence

The four Ishibashi Family Residence buildings were registered in the 18th round of registrations and announced in the official gazette on July 21, 1999. Their registration numbers run in sequence: the gate is 12-0016, the South Storehouse 12-0017, the East Storehouse 12-0018 and the Storehouse 12-0019.

The gate and the two roadside storehouses were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape. The Storehouse was registered as a building that would be difficult to reproduce. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives building areas of 5.0 square meters for the gate, 31 square meters for the South Storehouse, 30 square meters for the East Storehouse and 40 square meters for the Storehouse, and dates all four only to the Meiji period.

The owner field is blank for all four entries in the national database. Chiba Prefecture and Narita City list the owner as a private individual.

Visiting the Ishibashi Family Residence

The Ishibashi Family Residence is a private home, and Narita City lists it as closed to the public. The grounds and interiors cannot be entered. Because the gate and the two storehouses face the road, their exteriors can be seen from the public street.

Please stay on the road and do not step through the gate. Keep photographs to what is visible from the street, take care not to capture the residents' daily life, and avoid parking in front of the gate.

The Ishibashi Family Residence lies in farmland on the plateau about 12 kilometers northeast, in a straight line, of JR Narita and Keisei Narita stations. A bus route serving the house could not be confirmed, so a car or taxi is the practical way to get there.