The Reception Rooms of a Headman's House
The Kokonso (古今荘) is the reception wing of a village headman's house of the early Meiji period in Kamibuncho, Shikokuchuo City, Ehime Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 10, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 180 square metres, moved here around 1897; registration number 38-0065.
A Formal Entrance and Three Rooms
Kokonso stands north of centre on a long east-west site; it is a single-storey timber building nine bays by five under a hip-and-gable roof of full tiles, entered at the gable end (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
A fifteen-mat main room with an alcove is followed by a second and a third room, and the formal entrance, two and a half bays wide, is crowned by a gently curved gable (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It survives from a village headman's house, centred on its rooms for receiving guests.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it as a model of design.
What to Look For
Look for the formal entrance under its curved gable and the suite of rooms from the fifteen-mat main room (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
It is owned by Marusumi Engineering Co., Ltd. (Agency for Cultural Affairs). No official information on public access was found.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In the early Meiji period; it was moved here around 1897.
- How are the rooms laid out?
- A fifteen-mat main room, then a second and a third room.
- What marks the entrance?
- A formal entrance under a curved gable.
- What was it originally?
- The reception wing of a village headman's house.
- When was the Kokonso registered?
- On November 10, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Kokonso (古今荘) |
|---|---|
| Location | 601-2 Kamibuncho, Shikokuchuo City, Ehime Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof, 180 m² |
| Owner | Marusumi Engineering Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | No official information on access |
References
- Kokonso (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005041
Last verified: 2026.10.24