Sakai Family Residence Main House

About the Sakai Family Residence Main House

The Sakai Family Residence Main House (坂井家住宅主屋, Sakai-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a 2-storey wooden townhouse of the early Meiji era in Kitahonmachi, Mikuni-cho, Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005.

The Sakai Family Residence Main House is a kagura-date Machiya in the old streets of Mikuni Minato. It is 3.5 ken wide and 6.5 ken deep (a ken is about 1.8 m), with a building area of 75 m² and a Sangawara-buki pantile roof.

A Façade That Stands Out

The Main House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that its tidy frontage, with delicate lattice windows and wing walls at each end of the upper floor, stands out even among Mikuni's historic streets.

Kagura-date is the townhouse form Sakai City presents as characteristic of the area; the nearby Former Kishina House main house is another example. The Sakai Family Residence Main House shows the type at a compact, well-proportioned scale.

Gable-End Block, Side-Entry Front

A kagura-date house combines two parts: a main block with a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof entered on its gable end (Tsumairi), and a lower front block entered on its long side (Hirairi). The side-entered block meets the street, and the large gable of the main block rises behind it. Seen from the front, the two roofs appear stacked one behind the other: that is how you recognise a kagura-date house.

On the ground floor an earthen passage runs from the street through to the back, continuing beside the storehouse behind. Upstairs, tatami rooms are lined up in a single row along a corridor.

The street front has delicate Degōshi lattices, and wing walls project at both ends of the upper floor. These short walls on the boundary with the neighbours are also said to help stop fire spreading. Lattice and wing walls are arranged symmetrically, giving the front its composed look.

Seeing the Sakai Family Residence Main House

The Main House faces the street, so its kagura-date frontage can be seen from the road. Look for the main gable rising behind the front roof, the fine lattice and the wing walls at each end of the upper floor.

It is a private home, and we found no information on interior openings (checked October 2026). Access and the layout of the property are on the Sakai Family Residence (Mikuni) page.