A Tokyo carpenter, an Aizu joiner
Mukaitaki Guest Wing (Kagetsu Room, Ume Room and Others) is a guest wing of a hot-spring inn at Yumoto in Higashiyamamachi, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, built between 1897 and 1906 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 20 December 1996. It is two storeys of timber under a tiled roof, covering 248 square metres.
It is the oldest of the four listed buildings here. The entrance wing and the hanare belong to the early Taisho years and the other guest wing to about 1935, so the rest of the inn accumulated around this one.
Its registration number is 07-0003. The names in the brackets are the guest rooms this wing contains.
Why it was listed
Mukaitaki Guest Wing (Kagetsu Room, Ume Room and Others) was listed as a model of design. Unlike the entrance building, which the road sees, it was judged on how it is built.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to guest rooms in the Shoin-zukuri manner and to surviving fittings made by a local craftsman, calling the building a good example of the level reached by carpenters of Tokyo and of Aizu at the time.
It is worth noting that the finding names the standard of the craftsmen rather than a style. Who made it, and how, is the reason for the listing.
Two trades meeting in one building
The frame is said to have been built by a master carpenter brought from Tokyo, while the fittings came from Kiyohachi Yanaka, a joiner of Aizu. City carpentry and local joinery divided the work between them.
The interest lies at the join. In rooms worked in the shoin manner, the carpenter's posts and head-rails stand next to the joiner's screens and sliding doors. How urban and provincial skill combined in the northeast around 1900 survives in this one wing.
Mukaitaki Guest Wing (Kagetsu Room, Ume Room and Others) covers 248 square metres on two timber storeys, middling in size among the four. It faces the inner garden, and no two rooms are laid out alike.
Visiting
Mukaitaki Guest Wing (Kagetsu Room, Ume Room and Others) is a working guest wing. Only staying guests go inside, and the rooms are in use.
It stands back from the road, which sees little more than part of its roof. To take in the whole elevation you have to be within the grounds.
Directions and the terms on which the inn operates are set out on the page for Mukaitaki.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Fukushima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Mukaitaki Guest Wing (Kagetsu Room, Ume Room and Others)
- [ Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle & Ouchi-juku Village Tours ]
Q&A
- When was this guest wing at Mukaitaki built?
- Between 1897 and 1906, which makes it the oldest of the four listed buildings on the site.
- Who built Mukaitaki Guest Wing (Kagetsu Room, Ume Room and Others)?
- A master carpenter is said to have been brought from Tokyo for the frame, while the fittings were made by Kiyohachi Yanaka, a joiner of Aizu.
- How are the guest rooms finished?
- In the shoin manner, where the carpenter's posts and head-rails stand beside the joiner's screens and sliding doors.
- Can this wing be visited?
- It is a working guest wing, so only staying guests go inside. From the road little more than part of the roof shows.
- What is its registration number?
- 07-0003, listed on 20 December 1996.
Basic Information
| Name | Mukaitaki Guest Wing (Kagetsu Room, Ume Room and Others) |
|---|---|
| Location | 200 Kawamukae, Yumoto, Higashiyama-cho, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1996 (Heisei 8) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber frame, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 248 square metres |
| Owner | Mukaitaki Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Exterior from within the grounds; interior is space for staying guests |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database: Mukaitaki Guest Wing (Kagetsu Room, Ume Room and Others) (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000023
- Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Aizu Higashiyama Onsen Mukaitaki)
- https://www.mukaitaki.com/cultural_assets/
Last verified: 2026.09.17
