Nishino Family Residence Main House

A Farmhouse That Moved

The Nishino Family Residence Main House (西野家住宅主屋, Nishino-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a late Edo-period (1830–1868) farmhouse re-erected in Sadatomo-cho, Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture, in the early Taisho era, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 June 2017. It is a two-storey timber building with a steel-sheet roof and a building area of 221 square metres, registered as number 18-0177.

The house originally stood in the nearby town of Ikeda. It was dismantled and rebuilt here in the early Taisho era (1912–1918), when a rear extension was added, and it was renovated again in 1990. Of the six registered buildings in the compound, the main house has the oldest origins.

Two Eras Under One Roof

The Nishino main house was registered as a building that serves as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points out that the relocated Edo section and the Taisho extension each keep the character of their own period.

The front half shows the form and plan of a Goka farmhouse; the back half shows the light-filled taste of the 1910s. Walking from one to the other, you can follow a farmer's dwelling turning into the home of a prosperous papermaking family.

The Udatsu on the East Gable

The relocated part of the Nishino Family Residence Main House measures 4 by 6 Ken and is entered from the gable end. On its east gable rises a tall Udatsu, a wall carried up above the roofline. The agency calls this look characteristic of the area, and gable-entry houses with udatsu are a signature of the Goka papermaking villages.

Inside, six rooms are laid out in a regular grid, the Rokumadori plan. The alcove is framed with menkawa timber, square posts that keep a strip of natural log surface at the corners, a touch of teahouse taste within a farmhouse frame.

Round the back, the mood changes. The Taisho extension is lined with glazed doors and open to the light, a sharp contrast with the heavy earthen walls and udatsu of the east front.

Seeing the Main House

The Nishino Family Residence Main House stands at the heart of a private compound and cannot normally be seen, inside or out. The north street side is closed off by the wall, so the udatsu can only be viewed when the grounds are opened for a special event.

On those occasions, stand on the east side of the house to appreciate the height of the udatsu. Whether the interior is open varies from event to event, so check with the organizers.