Fujiu Family Residence Main House: A Late-Edo Farmhouse Under Thatch
The Fujiu Family Residence Main House (藤生家住宅主屋, Fujiu-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is the principal dwelling of the Fujiu family estate in Hirosawa-chō, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, a single-story timber farmhouse built in the late Edo period (1751-1829) and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.
It stands near the middle of the compound facing south, and its ridge runs about 11 ken, a ken being the standard structural bay of Japanese carpentry, roughly six feet. The hipped-and-gabled Irimoya-zukuri roof is Kayabuki thatch, currently covered with temporary copper sheeting. With a building area of 163 square meters, the Fujiu Family Residence Main House is the oldest and the largest of the 17 registered buildings and structures on the estate.
Why the Fujiu Main House Was Registered
The Fujiu Family Residence Main House was listed under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as the house of an upper-tier farming family and comments on its calm, settled presence.
The floor plan shows where that standing came from. The western half of the house is raised-floor living space arranged as a regular four-room grid, known as seikei yomadori, and one of those rooms is an eight-mat zashiki kept for receiving guests. A formal guest room separate from the daily work of the farm was something an ordinary cultivator could not afford. Along the south and west sides, tiled pent roofs shelter verandas, so a second, lower line of tile eaves runs beneath the thatch.
What to Look For at the Fujiu Main House
Look first at the sheer mass of the roof. Even under copper, the Fujiu Main House keeps the thickness and steep pitch of a thatched roof, and the long ridge makes the low single story seem to stretch sideways.
Then look at the south face, where the tiled eave slips in under the thatch with the veranda below it. Two roofing traditions, thatch above and clay tile beneath, share a single elevation here, and that layering is what gives the house its distinctive profile.
Viewing the Fujiu Family Residence Main House
The interior of the Fujiu Family Residence Main House is not open to visitors. Because the house sits in the middle of the compound, behind the front gate and the long storage shed on the south edge, the view from the public road is limited. Please stay outside the gates and take any photographs from the street, with care for the residents.
Directions to the estate and a guide to how its buildings fit together are on the Fujiu Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- How old is the Fujiu Family Residence Main House?
- It dates to the late Edo period, between 1751 and 1829. It is the oldest of the 17 registered buildings and structures at the Fujiu Family Residence.
- Why does the Fujiu Family Residence Main House have a copper roof?
- The roof is thatch. The copper sheeting is a temporary covering that protects the thatch, and the official register records it as a thatched roof with temporary copper roofing.
- What is distinctive about the layout of the Fujiu Family Residence Main House?
- Its western half is a regular four-room grid of raised-floor rooms, including an eight-mat guest room. Tiled pent roofs on the south and west sides shelter verandas.
- Can I go inside the Fujiu Family Residence Main House?
- No. It is part of a private home that is not open to the public. You can only see what is visible from the road, and entering the grounds is not permitted.
- How big is the Fujiu Family Residence Main House?
- It is a single-story timber building about 11 ken long, with a building area of 163 square meters, the largest of the Fujiu buildings.
Basic Information
| Name | Fujiu Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 5-1179 Hirosawacho, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered May 15, 2007 (54th round, registration no. 10-0212) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 163 square meters; about 11 ken long |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Fujiu Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006087
- Cultural Heritage Online: Fujiu Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/171392
- Kiryu City: Nationally Registered Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/kankou/bunkazai/1010700/kunitouroku/1001989.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
