Katayama Family Residence Main House

A Headman's House Built for Silk

The Katayama Family Residence Main House (片山家住宅主屋, Katayama-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a 2-storey farmhouse of around 1873 in Nitta Tameikecho, Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2004.

This was the home of the Katayamas, headmen of the old village of Tameike, and it stands near the middle of their homestead, facing south. Built of wood with a tiled roof, it covers 304 square metres, close to three times the footprint of the gatehouse, the next largest of the six listed buildings.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the Katayama Family Residence Main House a fine example of an upper-tier sericulture farmhouse: the home of a family that prospered by raising silkworms and selling cocoons, still in the shape it took in the early Meiji years.

Why It Was Registered

The main house received registration number 10-0112 in the 40th round of national registrations, dated 2004/2/17. It was listed as a model of its type in form and design. Of the six Katayama buildings, it is the only one registered on those grounds; the other five were listed for their contribution to the historic landscape.

A model of form means a building that gets its type right and could serve as a reference for others. Here a large 2-storey core is wrapped in lean-to geya roofs, a formal entrance announces the family's rank, and a raised vent on the roof serves the silkworms. The way the house balances a headman's dignity with a silk farm's practical needs is, we think, the heart of the assessment.

What to Look For

A long two-storey core

The core of the Katayama house is a 2-storey block under a kirizuma-zukuri gable roof, 10 and a half ken long by 4 ken deep. The ken is the traditional bay between posts; a frontage of 10 and a half bays is long even for a farmhouse.

Lean-tos on three sides

Lean-to roofs run round three sides of the core: 1 ken deep on the south and west, and 2 ken deep on the north. These lower roofs, tucked under the main eaves, usually sheltered verandas, store rooms or work areas.

A working east end and a formal front

According to the Agency, the east end of the house is the shimote, the working side with the earth-floored kitchen and service areas. The well house and the privy also stand on this east side of the homestead. The front carries an entrance with a shikidai, a raised boarded step for receiving guests, a feature traditionally associated with families of standing such as village headmen.

Ota City adds that the house has two entrances, one called the tobuguchi and the other the genkan. The genkan, with its shikidai step, was used only on special occasions. Everyday comings and goings and formal visits each had their own door.

The kebudashi on the ridge

At the centre of the roof rises a kebudashi, a raised secondary roof 6 ken long and 1 ken wide. On silk farms, vents of this kind drew air through upper-floor rooms where silkworms were reared. Even from a distance, that slim second roof perched on the ridge marks the Katayama Family Residence Main House as a silk farmer's home.

A note on the figures

Ota City describes the ground floor as roughly 94 tsubo, a very large house by any standard. That figure appears to be measured differently from the Agency's building area of 304 square metres; both are best read as a guide to the house's size.

Visiting

The Katayama Family Residence Main House is still a private home and its interior is not open. As of October 2026 we found no announcement of open days. Because it stands in the middle of the plot behind the gatehouse, we have not confirmed how much of it can be seen from outside. Please stay off the grounds and respect the residents' privacy.

Photographs in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database show the exterior.