Fujiu Family Retirement House: A Two-Story Inkyoya at Kiryu
Step past the main house of the Fujiu residence and, across a small courtyard garden to the west, a taller building comes into view. This is the inkyoya, the retirement house. In a traditional farming household the head of the family would hand the estate to an heir and move into a separate dwelling, and this two-story structure served exactly that role for the Fujiu family. It is one of eight buildings on the estate registered as national cultural properties in 2007.
The retirement house was built in the early Meiji era, between 1868 and 1911, with a further extension added later in the same period. Where the main house is a low, single-story farmhouse, the inkyoya rises to two floors under a yosemune hipped roof clad in sangawara pantiles. It connects to the main house from the latter's west veranda, with the courtyard garden set between them.
Why the House Was Registered
All eight Fujiu buildings were entered on the register on 15 May 2007 under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The retirement house earns its place partly through contrast. Its two-story height and different roof form set it apart from the main house, and that difference gives the whole compound a varied skyline rather than a single uniform mass. Registered Tangible Cultural Property status recognizes buildings that shape the character of a place, and here the inkyoya does so by breaking up the profile of the estate.
The interior plan reflects its dual purpose as both a home and a place to receive guests. The ground floor holds an eight-mat zashiki reception room and two six-mat rooms, with a veranda along the south side. Upstairs, a hall of roughly fourteen mats is fitted with a tokonoma, the recessed alcove used for displaying a scroll or flowers, and another veranda faces south. A bath wing projects to the west and a lavatory wing to the northwest.
What to Look For
The pleasure of the retirement house lies in how it sits against the main house. The low thatched mass of the older building and the upright tiled form of the inkyoya read as two different generations of construction, joined by the quiet green of the courtyard garden between them. From outside the compound, the second floor with its southern veranda is the clearest marker of the building.
The inkyoya belongs to a full working estate. The main house stands to its east, a plastered storehouse and a tea room lie to the north, and a water mill, a front gate, a perimeter wall, and a small Inari shrine complete the grounds. The Fujiu residence remains a private home and is not open to the public, so please view the buildings only from the road. For an interior visit, the nearby Hikobe Family Residence is open to guests.
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Q&A
- What is an inkyoya?
- It is a retirement house. When the head of a traditional household passed the estate to an heir, they often moved into a separate building on the grounds. The Fujiu inkyoya is a two-story house that served this purpose.
- How does it differ from the main house?
- The main house is a low, single-story thatched farmhouse from the late Edo period. The retirement house is a two-story building with a tiled hipped roof, added in the early Meiji era. The difference in height and roofing is deliberate and gives the compound its varied outline.
- Can I see the upstairs hall?
- No. The building is part of a private residence and is not open to the public. The upper floor holds a roughly fourteen-mat hall with a tokonoma alcove, but it can only be appreciated from the exterior description; there is no interior tour.
- What is open to visitors nearby?
- The Hikobe Family Residence at Hirosawa-cho 6-877, an Important Cultural Property, opens on weekends and holidays from 10:00 to 16:00 (weekdays by appointment), with admission of 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for children.
Basic Information
| Name | Fujiu Family Retirement House (Fujiuke Jutaku Inkyoya) |
|---|---|
| Location | 5-1179 Hirosawa-cho, Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Registered | 15 May 2007 (54th round); registration no. 10-0213 |
| Period | Early Meiji era (1868-1911), with a later Meiji extension |
| Structure | Two-story timber, pantile hipped roof; floor area about 93 square meters |
| Count | 1 building |
| Access to interior | Private residence; not open to the public |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Fujiu Family Retirement House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006110
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Fujiu Family Residence
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/171392
- City of Kiryu — List of Nationally Registered Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/kankou/bunkazai/1010700/kunitouroku/1001989.html
Last verified: 2026.07.02