What the Hosoi Family Residence Main House Is
The Hosoi Family Residence Main House (細井家住宅主屋, Hosoi-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a farmhouse built in 1861 in Shizukawa, Minamiaizu Town, Fukushima Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 21 April 1998 under registration number 07-0013. It was the home of the Hosoi, who served as village headmen in the late Edo period, and it stands at the centre of their estate.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a single-storey timber house under a thatched roof, with a building area of 246 square metres. The two storehouses still listed on the same estate cover 54 square metres and 93 square metres, so the house is several times the size of either. That floor area is the first thing behind the phrase the Agency uses for the Hosoi: a large farming household.
The date carries a small curiosity. The house is dated to the second year of Man'en, and Man'en was one of the shortest era names of the period: it was replaced by Bunkyū in the second month of that same year, 1861. A Man'en 2 date can only fall in the opening weeks of that calendar year.
Why It Was Listed
The Hosoi Family Residence Main House was registered as contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency's commentary says it shows the hallmarks of its period clearly and names three: an open exterior, heavy use of Sashigamoi between rooms, and comparatively low eaves.
A sashigamoi is a deep, heavy lintel that does part of the work of a beam. With enough of them, a carpenter can leave out intermediate posts and still keep the frame sound, so when the sliding doors come out the rooms run together into one broad space. Seen that way, the open exterior and the many sashigamoi are not two separate features but two faces of one way of building.
The record of change matters too. The house is now a plain rectangle, a form called sugoya, but it once had a chūmon, a stable wing projecting from the earth-floored end. L-shaped farmhouses with such a wing were common across the snow country of Aizu and Echigo. The Agency notes it because the present outline no longer shows how the house was first arranged.
What to Look For
Start with the eaves. The low eaves the Agency mentions let the big thatched roof come down close to the ground, so the walls look short beneath a heavy mass of roof. That proportion is typical of farmhouses of the period.
Then look at the gable end on the earth-floor side. That is where the stable wing used to project. It is gone, but the spot is a reminder that the plan was shaped around life in deep snow.
The sashigamoi and room divisions belong to the interior, which is not open to the public. From outside you can read the low eaves and the open frontage; the rest has to be taken from the Agency's description.
The document storehouse stands behind the house toward the west, and the sake storehouse to its northeast. Storehouses for different purposes flank the main house at the back and side.
Visiting
The Hosoi Family Residence Main House is a privately owned home and its interior is closed. No opening days or visitor arrangements appear in material published by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Fukushima Prefecture or Minamiaizu Town (checked 1 October 2026).
The house stands behind the gate on the road, so only part of it can be seen from outside. Stay on the road and do not enter the property. No signs about photography were found, but people live here, so keep windows and residents out of your pictures.
A thatched roof changes with the seasons. Minamiaizu gets heavy snow, and in winter both the roof and the roadside are buried. To see the roofline and the low eaves clearly, come in the snow-free months.
Directions to the estate and the conditions for viewing it are on the Hosoi Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Can I visit the Hosoi Family Residence Main House?
- The interior is not open. It is a private home, and no opening days or visitor arrangements could be found (checked 1 October 2026). Please view it only from the road.
- When was the Hosoi Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1861, dated to the second year of the Man'en era, which gave way to Bunkyū in the second month of that year.
- How large is the Hosoi Family Residence Main House?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single-storey timber house with a thatched roof and a building area of 246 square metres.
- What was the stable wing on the Hosoi Family Residence Main House?
- A wing called a chūmon projected from the earth-floored end and held the stable. It has since been removed, leaving the house a plain rectangle.
- Why is the Hosoi Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It shows the features of its period clearly: an open exterior, many sashigamoi lintels between rooms and low eaves. It was registered in 1998 as contributing to the historic landscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Hosoi Family Residence Main House (細井家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 175 Kazeshita-ko, Shizukawa, Minamiaizu Town, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registration number 07-0013 |
| Year Designated | Registered 1998/4/21 (Heisei 10) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, thatched roof, building area 246 square metres (as recorded at registration) |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; exterior from the road only |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database: Hosoi Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000515
- Fukushima Prefecture, List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings), as of 1 April 2026
- https://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/748318.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.01
