Abe Family Residence (Fukushima City)

About the Abe Family Residence in Fukushima City

The Abe Family Residence (阿部家住宅, Abe-ke Jūtaku) is a private estate in Kayaba, Sasagino, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, whose nine buildings, the oldest late Edo and the newest of 1953, were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in 2008.

Sasagino is a district some way west of central Fukushima. The Abe Family Residence holds two guest wings, six storehouses and a main house rebuilt after the Second World War. One of the storehouses kept silk cocoons on its ground floor and housed hired workers upstairs, which says something about the scale of the household: this was a family that handled cocoons and employed live-in staff.

Fukushima City's open-air museum of farmhouses holds a relocated house with a very similar name, the Former Abe Family Residence. It is a different building from the one in Sasagino.

Nine Buildings, One Registration

All nine buildings of the Abe Family Residence were registered on 18 April 2008 under consecutive numbers 07-0093 to 07-0101. The main house, the Hanare Zashiki and the bunko storehouse were registered as models of design; the other six for their contribution to the historic landscape. The national database gives these dates and sizes:

• Main house: 1953. Two storeys, timber, tiled roof, 156 m²
• Hanare Zashiki (detached guest wing): mid-Meiji period. One storey, timber, tiled roof, 93 m²
• Kamizashiki (upper guest wing): mid-Taisho period. One storey, timber, copper roof, 113 m²
• Front storehouse (Mae-no-kura): late Edo period. Two-storey clay storehouse, sheet-metal roof, 41 m²
• Silkworm storehouse: mid-Meiji period. Two-storey clay storehouse, tiled roof, 43 m²
• Stone storehouse: early Taisho period. Two storeys in stone, sheet-metal roof, 46 m²
• Miso storehouse: mid-Meiji period. Two-storey clay storehouse, sheet-metal roof, 25 m²
• Brick storehouse: late Taisho period. Two-storey clay storehouse, tiled roof, 109 m²
• Bunko storehouse: late Meiji period. Two-storey clay storehouse, tiled roof, 40 m²

The oldest is the front storehouse in the south-east corner, dated to the late Edo period (1830 to 1867 in the database). The Meiji era (1868 to 1912) added the silkworm and miso storehouses, the Hanare Zashiki and the bunko storehouse; the Taisho era (1912 to 1926) added the stone storehouse, the Kamizashiki and the brick storehouse. The main house came last.

The database entries for both guest wings say they were once attached to the predecessor of the present main house. An earlier family house therefore stood here, with the two wings built onto it. When it was built and when it was pulled down are not stated in the published sources.

How the Abe Family Residence Is Laid Out

The main house of the Abe Family Residence stands in the middle of the plot with its ridge running east to west. The entrance is in the east gable.

The east side faces the street and forms the public front. The silkworm storehouse runs along the road at the centre of the east edge, the stone storehouse sits between it and the main house, and the front storehouse holds the south-east corner. Just north of the main house is the small miso storehouse.

The guest wings and the larger storehouses gather to the south and west. The Hanare Zashiki lies south of the main house and the Kamizashiki to the south-west. West of the Kamizashiki is the bunko storehouse, and beyond that the brick storehouse, which is joined to the Kamizashiki's north-west corner. Rooms for receiving guests and stores for family valuables and clothing were kept together.

Read as a whole, the plot divides into working and storage buildings on the east and reception rooms with valuables stores on the west. A century of building, begun in the late Edo period and ending in 1953, was fitted into that pattern. Each building has its own page with details of its construction.

Visiting the Abe Family Residence

The Abe Family Residence is a private home and is not open to the public. Visitors cannot enter the grounds; the buildings can only be seen from the road. Fukushima Prefecture's list of modern heritage notes for all nine that photography of the interiors is not permitted. No special openings had been announced as of September 2026.

The easiest side to see is the east, facing the street. The red roof tiles and namako walls of the silkworm storehouse, and the front storehouse on the corner, are both on this side. Please take photographs only from the public road and avoid lingering at the gate.

From the east exit of Fukushima Station, Fukushima Kotsu buses run out to the Kayaba area. Fukushima Kotsu's timetable gives about 20 minutes between the Kayaba stop and the station (as of September 2026), and online maps place the Kita-Kayaba stop right beside the estate. Niwasaka Station on the JR Ou Line is roughly a 30-minute walk away. There is no visitor parking. Fukushima Kotsu revises its timetable on 1 October 2026, so check the latest times before setting out.