A 1924 Hybrid House Overlooking Tateyama Port
The Suzuki Family Residence Main House (鈴木家住宅主屋, Suzuki-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a Japanese-Western hybrid house built in 1924 in Numa, Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) in 2007. It is a timber house of 2 storeys with a single-storey section, covering 285 square metres. The upper roof is laid with natural slate and the lower roofs with sheet iron.
It stands at the back of the front garden, directly behind the stone gate, on a spot chosen for its view of Tateyama Port. It was designed by an architect from Yokohama in the months after the Great Kantō Earthquake, and the storehouse and gate were completed in the same year.
Inside, a central corridor hall runs through the ground floor. Japanese-style rooms, a guest room, a living room, a room for the family Buddhist altar and the kitchen, lie on one side; Western-style dining room, sitting room and bedroom lie on the other. The upper floor, with a reception room and bedrooms, is Western throughout.
Why It Was Registered
The Suzuki Family Residence Main House was registered under the criterion of serving as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out the Western treatment of the facade, the original finishes that survive in the Western rooms, and the quality of the joinery in the Japanese rooms.
Many houses of the Taishō era (1912 to 1926) kept a Japanese main building and added a separate Western wing beside it. This house does something different. It puts everything under one roof, dresses the exterior in Western clothes, and uses the corridor to divide the interior into Japanese and Western halves. For a family that ran a medical practice, rebuilding after the earthquake was a chance to decide how modern they wanted to live, and the plan records that decision.
Cork-tile floors and wallpaper are usually the first things to be replaced in an old house. Here they survive from the start, which is a large part of the building's value as a document of its period. The alcove (Tokonoma) and related joinery in the tatami rooms are also noted as fine work.
What to Look For
The centerpiece of the facade is a projecting porch topped by a triangular pediment. The two wings carry half-hipped roofs, gables with their peaks clipped back at an angle, and curved brackets (Mochiokuri) line up beneath the eaves.
Notice how the roofing changes with height: slate on the upper storey, sheet iron on the single-storey parts.
The east wall is finished in washed aggregate mortar (Araidashi) scored to look like stone blocks, exactly matching the storehouse next door. The two buildings were made to read as one continuous front.
Visiting
The Suzuki Family Residence Main House is a private home, and the interior is not open. The cork floors and tatami rooms are known to the public only through the national database and Tateyama City's description.
For the exterior, stand in front of the stone gate on the street. The gate lines up with the center of the house, so the pediment and the two wing roofs appear across the front garden, although garden trees can block part of the view. You may not enter the grounds, and photographs should be taken from the street.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Suzuki Family Residence Main House in Tateyama?
- No. It is a private home and is not open to the public, and the grounds are closed. The best view of the exterior is from the street in front of the stone gate, which lines up with the center of the house.
- When was the Suzuki Family Residence Main House built, and who designed it?
- It was completed in 1924, shortly after the Great Kantō Earthquake, to designs by an architect from Yokohama. The architect's name is not given in published records.
- What makes the Suzuki Family Residence Main House a Japanese-Western hybrid?
- The facade is Western, with a pedimented porch, half-hipped roofs and curved brackets. Inside, a central corridor separates Japanese tatami rooms from Western rooms on the ground floor, and the upper floor is entirely Western.
- Why is the Suzuki house in Tateyama called Akamon, the Red Gate?
- The family opened a medical practice in 1888, and its gateposts were painted red. Tateyama City notes that local people still use the name.
- What is the roof of the Suzuki Family Residence Main House made of?
- The upper storey is roofed with natural slate and the single-storey sections with sheet iron, so the material changes with the height of the roof.
Basic Information
| Name | Suzuki Family Residence Main House (鈴木家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1619 Numa, Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2007/5/15 (Heisei 19) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys with a single-storey section; building area 285 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior visible from the street) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs database: Suzuki Family Residence Main House (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006218
- Tateyama City: Suzuki Family Residence Main House, Storehouse and Front Gate (Japanese)
- https://www.city.tateyama.chiba.jp/syougaigaku/page009934.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
