What Is the Kato Family Residence Main House in Hongyotoku?
The Kato Family Residence Main House (加藤家住宅主屋, Katō-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a late Meiji period house in the modern Japanese style on the old Gyotoku Kaido road in Hongyotoku, Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 April 2010. It was the home of the Kato family, leading salt merchants in Gyotoku, and is a single-storey timber building under a Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, with a building area of 123 square meters.
The house measures 12 meters across by 7.3 meters deep and faces east onto the old road, presenting its full width to passers-by.
A Swelling Porch Roof and Copper-Roofed Lattice Bays
At the center of the facade, the Kato Family Residence Main House pushes forward an entrance porch under a gabled roof with a gentle mukuri, an upward swell in the roof surface. It is the opposite of the concave sweep familiar from temple roofs, and it gives the porch a soft, rounded look. On either side sit Degōshi projecting lattice bays under little roofs of Dōban-buki copper sheet, so the front is symmetrical and composed.
Descriptions of the porch roof differ. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database and the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education both call it a gently swelling gable roof; Ichikawa City describes a karahafu entrance. This article follows the Agency. A karahafu is a bargeboard that arches up in the middle and flips up at the ends, which looks different from a roof surface that simply bulges. On site, the outline of the gable end tells you which description fits.
A Fine Interior, and Why It Was Registered
Inside, the Kato Family Residence Main House is divided into many small rooms, finished in choice timbers and fitted with doors glazed in patterned glass. The Agency for Cultural Affairs rates it a high-quality modern Japanese-style house and registered it as number 12-0147 for its contribution to the historic landscape.
Ichikawa City points to the entrance, the copper-roofed canopy and the patterned glass doors as signs of a salt merchant's wealth and taste. In a town that had lived by salt since the Edo period, the house shows what kind of home a wholesaler built at the close of the Meiji era.
Visiting the Kato Family Residence Main House
The Kato Family Residence Main House is a private home and is not open inside; neither Ichikawa City nor Chiba Prefecture announces any opening (checked September 2026). The fine timbers and glass doors cannot be seen from outside, so a visit means looking at the facade from the road.
The curve of the porch roof is easier to read from a slight angle than head-on. From the far side of the street, you can take in the front of the house and the brick wall beside it in one view.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Chiba
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kato Family Residence Main House
- [ Book Tokyo Disney Resort Tickets ]
Q&A
- When was the Kato Family Residence Main House in Ichikawa built?
- In the late Meiji period. The national database does not give a specific year.
- Why is the Kato Family Residence Main House in Ichikawa a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- Its symmetrical front with a swelling porch roof and copper-roofed lattice bays, and its interior of fine timbers and patterned glass, make it a high-quality modern Japanese-style house that contributes to the historic landscape. It was registered on 28 April 2010.
- Can I go inside the Kato Family Residence Main House in Ichikawa?
- No. It is a private home with no public opening. The facade can be seen from the old Gyotoku Kaido road.
- Does the Kato Family Residence Main House in Ichikawa have a karahafu entrance?
- The national and prefectural descriptions call it a gently swelling gable roof, while Ichikawa City calls it a karahafu. This article follows the national database.
- How big is the Kato Family Residence Main House in Ichikawa?
- It is a single-storey timber house 12 meters by 7.3 meters, with a building area of 123 square meters.
Basic Information
| Name | Kato Family Residence Main House (加藤家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6-1 Hongyotoku, Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), No. 12-0147 |
| Year Designated | Registered 28 April 2010 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, pantiled roof, 12 meters by 7.3 meters, building area 123 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open (exterior visible from the old Gyotoku Kaido) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Kato Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008097
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kato Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/178115
- Kato Family Residence Main House and Brick Wall (Chiba Prefectural Board of Education, in Japanese)
- https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kyouiku/bunkazai/bunkazai/q111-008.html
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in Ichikawa (Ichikawa City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.ichikawa.lg.jp/page/4202.html
Last verified: 2026.09.29
