About the Nemoto Family Residence Main House
The Nemoto Family Residence Main House (根本家住宅主屋, Nemoto-ke Jūtaku Omoya) in Ichibu, Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture, is the late Edo-period (1830 to 1868) home of a former village-headman family, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 14, 2021.
It is a single-storey timber house facing east, with a hipped roof (Yosemune-zukuri) laid in interlocking pantiles (Sangawara-buki) and a footprint of 226 m². The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period and records alterations in 1901 and 1975. Its registration number is 12-0314.
Why the Nemoto Main House Was Registered
The Nemoto Family Residence Main House was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation. The Agency's citation calls it a large farmhouse that keeps the layout of an upper-tier Chiba farming household.
What makes the plan worth studying is that 2 very different functions share one roof. The northern half is an earth-floored work area (Doma), the kind of space used for farm work and storage. The southern half is raised and floored, and it holds a row of reception rooms. The Nemoto family served as nanushi, the headman of Ichibu village, and a headman's house had to receive officials and visitors in proper form. Abiko City points to the formal entrance on the front of the Nemoto Main House as a sign of that standing.
Inside the Plan of the Nemoto Main House
Along the south side run 3 tatami rooms (Zashiki) opening into one another, with a formal entrance step (Shikidai) on the east front. Abiko City notes that the innermost room is fitted as a shoin, a study-reception room. The arrangement allowed a guest to be received at the shikidai and shown into the linked rooms beyond.
North of the reception row sit the hiroma, the family's main living room, and an 8-mat room. Two further rooms push out into the earth-floored area, so the line between work floor and living floor is stepped rather than straight.
The roof of the Nemoto Family Residence Main House has its own story. It was once thatched. When the Narita Line opened in 1901, the family reportedly had it retiled, worried that sparks from steam locomotives would set the thatch alight. The Agency's record of work on the house in 1901 matches the year of that account.
Seeing the Nemoto Family Residence Main House
The Nemoto Family Residence Main House is still a private home, and its interior is not open to visitors. No opportunity to see the shikidai entrance or the reception rooms had been announced as of September 2026.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs database publishes 2 photographs of the Nemoto Main House, one of the east front and one of the earth-floored interior. Together they give a fair sense of the broad hipped roof and of how much of the house was given over to work space.
Q&A
- Can I visit the Nemoto Family Residence Main House?
- No. The Nemoto Family Residence Main House is a private residence, and Abiko City states that it is not open to the public. Photographs are available in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
- When was the Nemoto Family Residence Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period, between 1830 and 1868. It was altered in 1901 and again in 1975.
- Why is the Nemoto Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2021 as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation. The citation describes it as a large farmhouse that preserves the form of an upper-tier farming household in Chiba.
- Why does the Nemoto Family Residence Main House have a tiled roof instead of thatch?
- According to Abiko City, the thatch was replaced with tiles when the Narita Line opened in 1901, because the family feared sparks from steam locomotives.
- What is the shikidai entrance at the Nemoto Family Residence Main House?
- A shikidai is a raised formal entrance step used to receive guests of rank. The Nemoto family were village headmen, and Abiko City sees the shikidai at the front of the house as a mark of that status.
Basic Information
| Name | Nemoto Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 93-1 Shukudori, Ichibu, Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 226 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Nemoto Family Residence Main House (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013961
- Cultural Heritage Online: Nemoto Family Residence Main House (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/544501
- Abiko City, Abiko Digital Archaeology Museum: Nemoto Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.city.abiko.chiba.jp/kouko/siteibunkazai/nemotokejyuutaku.html
- Chiba Prefecture: Designated and Registered Cultural Properties in Abiko City (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kyouiku/bunkazai/shitei/shichouson/abiko.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
