Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Gunma

Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed

Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut: A Meiji Water-Powered Workshop

An early-Meiji water mill hut and storage shed under one tiled roof on the east side of the Fujiu estate in Kiryu, Gunma, once driven by channel water. Private.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Gunma

Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed: Two Rooms, One Roof

The Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed (藤生家住宅水車小屋及び物置, Fujiu-ke Jūtaku Suishagoya oyobi Monooki) is a single-story timber building of the early Meiji era at the middle of the east side of the Fujiu family estate in Hirosawa-chō, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.

A water mill hut 2 ken square sits at the south end, and a storage shed 4 ken long and 1 ken deep continues to its north, the two sharing one continuous tiled roof. Because a single building holds both functions, it was registered under the double name. The building area is 24 square meters.

Why It Was Registered: Water Power on the Estate

The Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the family once turned the water wheel with water drawn from a channel along the east of the property.

On Japanese farms, water wheels usually powered the pounding of rice or the grinding of grain into flour. What the Fujiu wheel drove is not recorded, but a mill inside the compound shows a household equipped to process its own produce with water power.

What to Notice

The walls of the Fujiu Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed are plain clay between exposed posts, except for the east side, which is boarded vertically in the same way as the outer wall continuing south from it. Building and wall together present one continuous timber face toward the water channel.

The two rooms differ in size yet sit under one unbroken roof. One took the water, the other held tools and harvests, and together they formed a single small workplace.

Seeing the Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed

The Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed stands on the east edge of the property. Part of its east face may be visible from outside, but the building and grounds belong to a private home and are not open.

The wheel no longer turns. Please do not step onto private land along the channel or into the grounds.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed; [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]

Q&A

QDoes the water wheel at the Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed still turn?: ANo. It once ran on water from a channel along the east side of the estate, but it no longer operates.

QWhat was the Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed mill used for?: AThe specific use is not recorded. On Japanese farms, water wheels generally powered rice pounding or grain grinding.

QWhy is the Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed registered as a single property?: ABecause the 2-ken-square mill hut and the 4-by-1-ken storage shed stand side by side under one continuous tiled roof, forming a single building.

QWhen was the Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed built?: AIt dates to the early Meiji era and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.

QCan I visit the Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed?: AThe building and grounds are not open to the public. It stands on the east edge of the estate, but viewing is only possible from outside the property.

Basic Information

Name	Fujiu Family Residence Water Mill Hut and Storage Shed
Location	5-1179 Hirosawacho, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	Registered May 15, 2007 (54th round, registration no. 10-0219)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Building area 24 square meters; mill hut 2 ken square, storage shed 4 by 1 ken
Owner	Private owner
Public Access	Not open to the public (private residence)