About the Matsumura Family Residence Main House
The Matsumura Family Residence Main House (松村家住宅主屋, Matsumura-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a two-story timber house built in 1936 in Daimyo 2-chome, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, and was entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on March 26, 2015. It was built for Matsumura Hisakichi, third head of the Jokyu soy sauce brewery, and today forms the core of Shōnankyo (松楠居), the name under which the house is now used.
The roof is tiled and the building covers 163 square meters. What sets the Matsumura main house apart is that the Agency for Cultural Affairs names its designer: the Jutaku Kairyokai, or Housing Improvement Society. The society's ideas about how a family should live can still be read in the plan and the street face of the house.
A Design by the Housing Improvement Society
The Jutaku Kairyokai was set up by Hashiguchi Shinsuke, owner of Amerikaya, a firm that built American-style houses in Japan. From August 1916 to December 1943 the society published a monthly magazine called Jutaku (The House). A paper in the Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan describes it as one of the first organizations founded specifically to improve Japanese housing, and research by Kimura Tokukuni at Hokkaido University credits it with spreading the idea of a house organized around the family living room.
The Agency picks out three features of the Matsumura Family Residence Main House that follow that line of thinking. Rooms for receiving guests are clearly separated from rooms where the family lives. The kitchen and bathing rooms are moved into a separate wing reached by a covered corridor. And the raised-floor living rooms are generous in size, planned with daylight in mind. Older urban houses tended to put the guest room at the heart of the plan; here the family's comfort comes first.
Bay Windows and an Upper-Floor Veranda
The first thing you notice is the number of bay windows. Window after window projects from the walls, each capped by a small roof, so that layers of Hisashi eaves build up across the facade. The Agency describes the result as light and rich in expression.
On the upper floor runs a wide Engawa, a veranda-like corridor along the outer rooms. The concern for light is easiest to feel up there. If you are inside on the ground floor, look at how large the windows are and how bright the rooms stay.
The main house stands back behind the wall, so from the street it appears as a roofline and a row of upper-floor bay windows behind the Western-style house and the gate. Stand on the street to the south and look up: the hipped roof of the little Western parlor sits in front of the taller Japanese house, and the difference in scale between the two is plain to see.
Why the Matsumura Main House Was Registered
The Matsumura Family Residence Main House received registration number 40-0115 in the 80th round of registrations, on the ground that it contributes to the historic landscape. The Agency records its address as Daimyo 2-127, on land that was once Fukuoka Castle's middle moat.
Two things earned the Agency's attention: the orderly plan worked out by the Housing Improvement Society, and the exterior of stacked eaves and bay windows. The Western-style house, the storehouse and the gate with its wall were registered on the same day, and the four together make up one estate.
Visiting the Matsumura Family Residence Main House
The ground floor of the Matsumura Family Residence Main House is let to a restaurant, and the upper floor has served as a venue for exhibitions and events (checked September 2026). You can see the interior during restaurant hours or when an event is on upstairs. The upper floor opens only on event days, so check Shōnankyo's announcements before you go.
There is no official guidance on photography. If you take pictures inside, keep other guests out of the frame and ask the staff first. The exterior can be viewed from the street at any time.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Fukuoka
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Matsumura Family Residence Main House
- [ Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine & Hakata Food Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Matsumura Family Residence Main House built, and for whom?
- It was built in 1936 as the home of Matsumura Hisakichi, the third head of the Jokyu soy sauce brewery.
- Who designed the Matsumura Family Residence Main House?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs names the Jutaku Kairyokai (Housing Improvement Society), founded by Hashiguchi Shinsuke and publisher of the magazine Jutaku.
- Can I go inside the Matsumura main house?
- Yes, during the opening hours of the restaurant on the ground floor. The upper floor is used as a venue on event days (checked September 2026).
- When did the Matsumura Family Residence Main House become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On March 26, 2015, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- What should I look for at the Matsumura Family Residence Main House?
- The many bay windows with their layered eaves, and the wide veranda on the upper floor. The plan, with kitchen and bath in a separate wing, reflects the housing reform ideas of the Taisho and early Showa periods.
Basic Information
| Name | Matsumura Family Residence Main House (松村家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-127 Daimyo, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2015 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 163 m² (timber, 2 stories, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Shoson Co., Ltd. (有限会社ショーソン) |
| Public Access | 1st floor open as a restaurant; 2nd floor used for events (checked 2026-09) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Matsumura Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010523
- Cultural Heritage Online: Matsumura Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/278383
- Jokyu: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, Jokyu Shoyu and the Matsumura Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.jokyu.co.jp/history/property/index.html
- Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan No. 345: On the Founding of the Jutaku Kairyokai (J-STAGE, Japanese)
- https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aijsaxx/345/0/345_KJ00003751214/_pdf
- Kimura Tokukuni, Housing Reform in the Taisho Period and the Living-Room-Centered House, Hokkaido University (Japanese)
- https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/repo/huscap/all/40630/18_45-150.pdf
- Nishitetsu News: Spot Information for the Ground Floor of Shonankyo (Japanese)
- https://www.nishitetsu.jp/nishitetsu_news/spot_type/post-4917/
Last verified: 2026.10.01
