About the Main House
The Kabashima Family Residence Main House (椛島家住宅主屋, Kabashima-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) in Nijotanaka, Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture, is a timber house of about 1897, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 2, 2017.
It stands at the center of the estate facing south: a single-story tiled building with a 2-story section and a building area of 264 square meters, renovated about 2008. Its register number is 40-0140. The Kabashima Family Residence Main House is still a family home, and in open seasons its reception rooms double as the galleries of a small private museum.
Lattice Bays and Octagonal Windows
What sets the Kabashima Family Residence Main House apart is its front. Projecting lattice bays (Degōshi) sit beside octagonal lattice windows in two sizes, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs names this combination as the source of the house's distinctive look.
The east end is an earth-floored work area (Doma). The raised floor holds 5 rooms in a staggered arrangement, and 2 rows of wings (Tsunoya) project to the west: the front row holds the rear parlor, the back row the Buddhist altar room and other rooms.
Itoshima City reads several features as inheritances from Edo-period farmhouses: a broad frontage, no formal entrance hall (genkan), and a forecourt that plays the part of the niwa, the working yard of a rural house.
Rooms Made by Meiji Craftsmen
The Agency rates the interior joinery highly, and Itoshima City points to the hands of fittings makers, plasterers and painters throughout. An old farmhouse plan finished to the standard of a wealthy Meiji landowner is what the Agency sees as typical of the region's large modern houses, and the Kabashima Family Residence Main House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.
The owners' floor guide names the rooms. On the ground floor, the Kisankaku is a large room with a formal Shoin-zukuri alcove (Tokonoma); the sliding doors of the next room carry paintings by the Meiji painter Haizan and his contemporaries. Upstairs, the Gekkōkaku is a full shoin room with alcove and display shelves, its alcove post of black persimmon and its ceiling of straight-grained hinoki. Look for cloisonné pulls on the upper cupboards and ginkgo-shaped nail covers (Kugikakushi). Next door, the Furōkaku has crane nail covers and glass Ranma transoms.
Two household altars (kamidana) on the ground floor copy the shrines of Ise and Izumo. The tea room, Raku, was once the counting room where the estate kept its books, a reminder that the landlord's office sat inside the family home.
Seeing the Main House
The interior of the Kabashima Family Residence Main House can be seen only during exhibition periods, when the ground-floor gallery serves as the admission desk.
The 2025 visitor leaflet asks guests not to take photographs inside. For the exterior, stand just inside the south gate, where the lattice bays and both sizes of octagonal window come into view together.
Q&A
- When was the Kabashima Family Residence Main House built?
- About 1897, with a renovation about 2008. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 2, 2017.
- What is distinctive about the exterior of the Kabashima Family Residence Main House?
- Its front combines projecting lattice bays with octagonal lattice windows in 2 sizes, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs identifies as its distinctive feature.
- How is the Kabashima Family Residence Main House laid out?
- An earth-floored area at the east end, 5 staggered rooms on the raised floor, and 2 rows of wings to the west holding the rear parlor and the Buddhist altar room.
- Can I go inside the Kabashima Family Residence Main House?
- Not on ordinary days. The rooms open as a small museum during exhibitions held mainly in spring and autumn.
- Is photography allowed inside the Kabashima Family Residence Main House?
- The 2025 visitor leaflet asks guests not to photograph inside. The exterior can be viewed from just inside the south gate.
Basic Information
| Name | Kabashima Family Residence Main House (椛島家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 101 Otsuka, Nijotanaka, Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), register no. 40-0140 |
| Year Designated | Registered May 2, 2017 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-story timber house with a 2-story section, tiled roof, building area 264 square meters |
| Owner | Kabashima family (private) |
| Public Access | Not open daily; opened during exhibitions held mainly in spring and autumn |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Kabashima Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011587
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kabashima Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/222284
- Registered Tangible Cultural Property: Kabashima Family Residence (Itoshima City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.itoshima.lg.jp/s033/010/020/010/190/20181004152257.html
- Registered Buildings (Kabashima Family Residence official site, in Japanese)
- https://kabashimake.com/buildings/
- Museum leaflet, second half of fiscal 2025 (Kabashima Family Residence, in Japanese)
- https://kabashimake.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/%E4%B8%89%E3%81%A4%E6%8A%98%E3%82%8A%E3%83%91%E3%83%B3%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%83%E3%83%88R7%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%9F%E5%AE%8C%E6%88%90.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.27
