A Stone Shrine by the Garden Pond
The Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine (鈴木家住宅稲荷社, Suzuki-ke Jūtaku Inarisha) is a stone Inari shrine made in 1953 in Kanaya, Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) in 2010. It occupies just 0.7 square metres. It is a household shrine to Inari, the deity of harvests and prosperity, placed within the family grounds, and it was repaired in 1975.
It stands beside the garden pond northeast of the Main House, facing west. A foundation stone sits on a stone-built platform, and on that rests the shrine itself, 0.22 metres wide and 0.59 metres high.
Why It Was Registered
The Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation. Small as it is, the Agency for Cultural Affairs points to the high level of skill it shows.
The shrine takes the form of a single-bay sanctuary with a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) and a small triangular gable (Chidori-hafu) on the front slope. Posts, horizontal tie beams (Nageshi), rafters (Taruki), gable ornaments and doors, all the parts a carpenter would assemble in wood, are carved out of stone. A family of stone merchants put a mason's full skill into its own household shrine.
What to Look For
Look closely and you can pick out each rafter under the eaves and the step of the tie beams running between the posts, all cut into the surface of the stone. What a carpenter would build from separate timbers, a mason has carved from solid rock.
The front gable is a feature normally found on full-size shrine buildings. Reproducing it at a scale small enough to fit in two hands is what makes the Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine worth seeking out.
Visiting
The Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine is in the garden of a property that now belongs to the Nokogiriyama Museum of Art's premises, but the museum only advertises the Stone Storehouse annex as open. Whether the garden and shrine can be seen is not stated, and the shrine's position by the pond, northeast of the house, means it is not visible from the street. If you hope to see it, contact the museum.
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Q&A
- Can you see the Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine in Futtsu?
- The property is part of the Nokogiriyama Museum of Art, but only the Stone Storehouse annex is advertised as open. Ask the museum whether the shrine can be seen.
- How big is the Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine?
- The shrine is 0.22 metres wide and 0.59 metres high, on a footprint of 0.7 square metres.
- When was the Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine made?
- In 1953, with a repair in 1975.
- What is the Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine made of?
- Stone. Even the posts, tie beams, rafters, gable ornaments and doors are carved from stone.
- Where is the Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine?
- Beside the garden pond northeast of the Main House, facing west.
Basic Information
| Name | Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine (鈴木家住宅稲荷社) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2288-1 Kanaya Uehara and others, Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2010/1/15 (Heisei 22) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Stone; area 0.7 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | No announced public access |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs database: Suzuki Family Residence Inari Shrine (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007974
- Chiba Prefectural Board of Education: Suzuki Family Residence Main House and others, Futtsu (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kyouiku/bunkazai/bunkazai/q111-076.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
