A stone well of the mid-Meiji years at Iyoki
The Kochi Family Residence Well (河内家住宅井戸, Kōchi-ke Jūtaku Ido) is a stone well of the mid-Meiji period in the southern part of the Kochi family property at Iyoki in Uchiko Town, Ehime Prefecture, added to the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 July 2011. It lies roughly 20 meters south of the main house.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs files it differently from its neighbours. The main house and the storehouse on the same land are classed as buildings; the well is classed among other constructed works, and it is counted as one unit rather than one building. Something nobody ever lived in carries a national listing here.
Its registration number is 38-0101, the last of the three issued to this property.
How the Kochi Family Residence Well is built
Four dressed granite blocks form the curb, laid in the interlocking square arrangement called igeta. The square measures 1.3 meters on each side and stands 0.52 meters high, giving an area of 1.6 square meters, about the footprint of a single tatami mat.
Below ground the shaft is built from rounded river cobbles set in a circle. A square mouth above, a round shaft beneath. Dry-laid stone of this kind holds the walls of the shaft open while letting groundwater pass through into the well.
Around the curb, large flat slabs of aoishi, the bluish stone commonly used in this region for garden work and paving, form a washing apron. Flat stone underfoot keeps the ground from turning to mud and gives a bucket somewhere stable to sit.
Four square posts rise from the corners of that apron and carry a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles. This is what the database means by its note that the well comes with a shelter. A small piece of architecture sits above the water.
Why a well was worth registering
The Kochi Family Residence Well was listed under the criterion for structures contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency's description calls it a facility through which one glimpse of Meiji-era daily life can be caught. The argument rests on evidence of how people lived, not on refinement of form.
Before piped water reached these hamlets, a household drew what it needed from its own ground. A roof overhead and a paved apron underfoot show that this spot was not merely a source of water but a place of work. Rice was rinsed here, vegetables washed, laundry done. The roof exists because that work had to continue in the rain.
Three items on this property, the main house, the storehouse and this well, all entered the register on 25 July 2011. Registering the compound as a whole rather than picking out its monumental building is what brought a small stone well into the national record.
Visiting the Kochi Family Residence Well
The Kochi Family Residence Well stands inside privately owned grounds and is not open. Uchiko Town lists the owner as a private individual and publishes no opening days or visitor arrangements. Because the well sits behind the main house on the south side, little more than part of its roof is likely to be visible from outside at all.
The land is private. Do not step onto it in order to look at the well more closely. Keep any photography to positions outside the boundary, and frame it so that the house and its residents stay out of the picture.
The address is 123-1 Iyoki, Uchiko Town, Kita District, Ehime Prefecture. Uchiko Station on the JR Yosan Line lies about 2.5 kilometers to the south, roughly 7 minutes by car or 35 minutes on foot. No visitor parking or signage could be confirmed.
The Uchiko Town local government and education section handles questions about site conditions and any future opening.
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Q&A
- How is the Kochi Family Residence Well built?
- Four dressed granite blocks form a square curb in the igeta arrangement. The shaft below is built of rounded cobbles laid in a circle, and a washing apron of flat aoishi slabs surrounds the curb. Four square posts carry a gabled pantile roof over the whole thing.
- How big is the Kochi Family Residence Well?
- The curb measures 1.3 meters on each side and 0.52 meters high, with an area of 1.6 square meters. It is counted as one unit and classed among other constructed works rather than as a building.
- Why is the Kochi Family Residence Well a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on 25 July 2011 under the criterion for structures contributing to the historic landscape of the country, with registration number 38-0101. The listing values it as a facility revealing part of everyday Meiji-era life.
- Can you visit the Kochi Family Residence Well?
- No. It stands inside private grounds that are not open to visitors, and its position south of the main house means it is barely visible from the public road. Please do not enter the property.
- Where is the Kochi Family Residence Well, and what is the nearest station?
- At 123-1 Iyoki, Uchiko Town, Kita District, Ehime Prefecture, roughly 20 meters south of the main house. Uchiko Station on the JR Yosan Line is about 2.5 kilometers away, roughly 7 minutes by car or 35 minutes on foot.
Basic Information
| Name | Kochi Family Residence Well (河内家住宅井戸) |
|---|---|
| Location | 123-1 Iyoki, Uchiko Town, Kita District, Ehime Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 38-0101 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 25 July 2011 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Curb 1.3 meters square, 0.52 meters high; area 1.6 square meters |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public. Inside private grounds; cannot be visited |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Kochi Family Residence Well
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008791
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kochi Family Residence Well
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/213832
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Kochi Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008789
- Uchiko Town: list of nationally registered and designated cultural properties
- https://www.town.uchiko.ehime.jp/soshiki/18/138907.html
Last verified: 2026.09.05