The Former Taniguchi Residence: A Farmhouse Shaped Like a Sideways T
Seen from above, this thatched farmhouse makes the outline of a letter T laid on its side. A long main block runs across the front, and two wings push out from its back, one to the north and one to the south, giving the plan a depth unusual among rural houses. The form has a name in the region, the projecting-wing or tsunoya layout, and among the farmhouses built in this manner across western Echizen, the Taniguchi house is counted the most fully developed.
The building dates from the late Edo period, around 1809, and was raised by a farming family in Yokoichi, then part of Takefu, in what is now Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture. The main block measures about 13.2 metres along the front and 9.4 metres deep, with the two rear wings adding their own spans. Above it sits a hip-and-gable roof of thatch, ringed on all four sides by lower tiled lean-tos and eaves, and crowned by a large smoke vent that lifts above the ridge.
The house no longer stands where it was built. It was taken down and reassembled inside Mimasano-en, a park on the eastern side of Echizen City, where it can be seen today among gardens and seasonal plantings. The Agency for Cultural Affairs designated it an Important Cultural Property in 1977, and the city of Echizen now owns and maintains it.
Why It Was Designated
The value of the Taniguchi house lies in how clearly it shows a regional building tradition at its peak. The projecting-wing plan was particular to this part of Echizen, and researchers place the house at the most advanced point of that line of development. Inside, the distinguishing feature is a row of six rooms set one behind another along the western side of the house, a depth of planning that ordinary farmhouses rarely attempted.
Two of those rooms tell of the household's standing. The plan includes a jōdan, a section of floor raised a step above the rest to mark a place of honour for a seated guest, and a butsuma, the room that held the family's Buddhist altar. Such formal spaces inside a working farmhouse point to a family of some rank in the village, and their careful arrangement is part of what earned the building national recognition.
Because the house was relocated rather than left to decay on its original site, its timber frame, thatch and interior fittings survive as a single readable example of the type. That completeness is what makes it useful: a building one can walk through to understand how a prosperous Echizen farmhouse was organised.
Visiting the House
The Taniguchi residence stands within Mimasano-en, a citizens' park in the Mimasano district that draws on the area's links to the Man'yōshū, Japan's earliest poetry anthology, and to the sixth-century emperor Keitai. The grounds change with the seasons: cherry blossom in spring, water lilies and a pond of lotus that flowers from July into early August, and coloured leaves in autumn. A small museum on the anthology and a restaurant sit nearby.
Inside the house, the heart of the plan is the earthen-floored doma, where the sunken hearth, or irori, is cut directly into the ground. Caretakers light a fire in it several times a week, the smoke rising to the vent above; the practice is not for show but for the roof, since thatch dries and decays without the steady warmth and soot of a working hearth. When a fire is burning, the interior reads exactly as it would have for the family who lived here.
The park lies on the eastern edge of Echizen City, about 7.5 kilometres from Takefu Station on the JR Hokuriku Line. A local bus runs toward the Ajimano Shrine stop, a short walk away, though services are infrequent; rental bicycles at the station are a practical alternative. Interior viewing depends on opening days, so it is worth checking before a visit. Close by is Takefu Knife Village, where the city's celebrated forged blades are made.
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Q&A
- Is this the house's original location?
- No. It was built in Yokoichi, formerly part of Takefu City, and later dismantled and rebuilt inside Mimasano-en in Echizen City, where it stands today.
- Can I go inside?
- The interior is open on certain days, when visitors can see the doma, the hearth and the row of rooms. Opening varies, so confirm in advance. The surrounding park is freely accessible year-round.
- Why do they light a fire in the hearth?
- The fire is lit several times a week to preserve the thatched roof. Smoke and warmth from the hearth keep the thatch dry and discourage decay, which is why a fire is sometimes burning when you visit.
- What makes the "sideways T" plan special?
- The two wings projecting from the back of the main block are a regional feature of western Echizen farmhouses. The Taniguchi house is regarded as the most developed surviving example of this projecting-wing form.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Taniguchi Residence (originally in Yokoichi, Takefu City, Fukui) |
|---|---|
| Location | Within Mimasano-en, 25-17 Yokawa-cho, Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Buildings) |
| Date designated | 28 January 1977 (Shōwa 52) |
| Built | c. 1809 (Bunka 6), late Edo period |
| Structure | Hip-and-gable thatched roof with tiled lean-tos on all sides; main block about 13.2 m by 9.4 m, with north and south projecting wings; one building |
| Owner | Echizen City |
| Access | About 7.5 km from Takefu Station, JR Hokuriku Line; bus to Ajimano Shrine stop, then a short walk |
| Open | Interior open on certain days; surrounding park freely accessible (confirm in advance) |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Taniguchi Residence
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/818
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Taniguchi Residence
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/144518
- Echizen City Tourism: Man'yō no Sato Mimasano-en
- https://www.echizen-tourism.jp/travel_echizen/visit_detail/18
Last verified: 2026.06.22