Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Gunma

Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine

Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine: A Zelkova Household Shrine

A mid-Meiji household shrine in the corner of the Kawabata estate in Fujioka, Gunma: a tiny zelkova nagare-zukuri shrine with a bracketed porch and railings.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Gunma

What Is the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine?

The Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine (川端家住宅稲荷社, Kawabata-ke Jūtaku Inarisha) is the family’s guardian shrine in the southwest corner of the Kawabata estate in Tateishishinden, Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture, built around the middle Meiji period and registered in 2001 as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

It is a one-bay shrine in the Nagare-zukuri style, built entirely of zelkova and raised on a platform of cut stone. With a building area of 1.9 square meters, it is the smallest of the 19 registered buildings.

On the roofing, the Agency for Cultural Affairs is inconsistent: its description says copper sheet, while the structure field of the same database entry says tile.

Why the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine Was Registered

The Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property under the criterion "a model of form."

The Agency praises it as correctly and properly built despite its tiny size. Household shrines are often simple boxes, but this one uses the full vocabulary of a shrine sanctuary down to the details.

Like the Great Gate, it is all zelkova. In its silk-rich middle Meiji years, the family spared neither fine timber nor skill even on the shrine to its protective deity, Inari.

Highlights of the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine

A Kōhai porch projects from the front of the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine. Its posts are square and carry Mitsudo-gumi three-block bracketing, while the posts of the sanctuary behind are round and fitted with carved bracket arms. Changing the post form from front to back is a standard way of signalling rank in shrine architecture.

The eaves have two tiers of closely set rafters. A shrine of under 2 square meters is finished at the eaves with the density of a full-scale sanctuary.

A veranda with a Kōran railing capped by Giboshi finials wraps three sides, and a low platform, the hamayuka, sits in front. With the cut-stone base, the whole shrine is lifted a step above the ground.

Visiting the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine

The Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine sits in the southwest corner of the grounds and is hard to see from outside. The estate is a private home and not open to the public.

Because this is the household’s own place of worship, visitors on a reservation-only filming or event booking should ask the owners whether they may approach or photograph it.

General information and transport details are on the Kawabata Family Residence page.

Q&A

QWhat is the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine?: AThe household guardian shrine of the Kawabata family, a one-bay nagare-zukuri shrine of solid zelkova on a cut-stone base, built around the middle Meiji period.

QWhere is the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine?: AIn the southwest corner of the estate grounds.

QHow big is the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine?: AIt has a building area of 1.9 square meters, the smallest of the estate’s 19 registered buildings.

QWhat is the roof of the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine made of?: AThe Agency for Cultural Affairs’ description says copper sheet, but the structure field of the same record says tile, so the sources disagree.

QWhy is the Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?: AIt was registered in 2001 for its correct, well-crafted construction, including bracketed porch posts, carved bracket arms, double-tier rafters and a railed veranda.

Basic Information

Name	Kawabata Family Residence Inari Shrine
Location	391 Tateishishinden, Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	2001 (Heisei 13)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Building area 1.9 m²
Owner	Kawabata Hozensha
Public Access	Not open to the public (private home; reservation-only use for filming and events)