A Long, Narrow Divider
The Saito Family Residence Shed (齋藤家住宅小屋, Saitō-ke Jūtaku Koya) is a single-storey timber outbuilding of 1909 standing east of the main house and north of the rice storehouse in the Saito family compound in Funatsucho, Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 29, 2016, under number 18-0163. It has a tiled roof and a building area of 27 square metres.
It runs east to west along the path from the front gate to the door of the main house, and it is strikingly slender: 13 metres long but only 2.0 metres deep. Inside are three main rooms, once used as a privy and for storage.
Why It Was Registered
The Saito Family Residence Shed was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. It is a modest building with a humble purpose, but the Agency for Cultural Affairs credits it with separating the entrance court of the main house from the garden and so giving shape to the grounds.
An old family compound is made as much by its outbuildings as by its house and storehouses. The shed lines one side of the route that led visitors from the front gate to the door, and it screens the garden from the comings and goings at the entrance. Its value lies less in the building itself than in where it stands and how far it reaches.
What to Look For
Look at the shed together with the East Gate. According to the Agency, the gate faces the shed across the entrance court, and it too divides the space in front of the house from the garden to the east. The long shed and the gate work as a pair to define the entrance court.
Consider the length as well. Packing a privy and storerooms into a single 13 metre range that doubles as a screen wall shows a household that planned its grounds as a whole.
Visiting
The shed is privately owned, and Sabae City notes that the interior is not open. Because it stands inside the front gate in the entrance court of the main house, it cannot be seen in full from outside the grounds.
Keep to what can be glimpsed through the gate from the public road along the old Hokuriku Road, and do not step inside the gate. Directions are on the Saito Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Saito Family Residence Shed?
- The interior is not open. It stands inside the front gate, so it cannot be seen in full from outside; at most it can be glimpsed through the gate from the road.
- What was the Saito Family Residence Shed used for?
- Its interior is divided into three rooms, which were once used as a privy and for storage.
- When was the Saito Family Residence Shed built?
- In 1909 (Meiji 42).
- How big is the shed at the Saito house in Sabae?
- It is a slender single-storey timber building 13 metres long and 2.0 metres deep, with a building area of 27 square metres.
- Why is the Saito Family Residence Shed a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2016 for contributing to the historic landscape, for its role in separating the entrance court of the main house from the garden.
Basic Information
| Name | Saito Family Residence Shed (齋藤家住宅小屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1421 Funatsucho 4-chome, Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016/11/29 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 27 square metres, 13 metres long, 2.0 metres deep |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Interior closed |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Saito Family Residence Shed (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011296
- Sabae City: Saito Family Residence Shed (Japanese)
- https://www.city.sabae.fukui.jp/kosodate_kyoiku/manabenoyakata/bunkazai/sabae_bunkazai/kenzoubutu/tourokuyuukei/18-0163-touroku.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
