About the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room
The Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room (中村家住宅奥座敷, Nakamura-ke Jūtaku Okuzashiki) is a 1-story wooden block of reception rooms built in 1894 at the back of the Nakamura family estate in Honcho 1-chome, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005.
The Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room adjoins the east side of the document storehouse. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives it as 12 m long and 7.6 m deep, with a tiled Sangawara-buki roof, hipped at one end, on an east-west ridge, and a building area of 85 square meters. It is the oldest of the seven registered buildings on the estate.
A 10-mat main room and a 6-mat anteroom face south, with a board-floored Kuramae on the north side. Toward the west end, next to the document storehouse, a storehouse is built into the structure.
Kiryu City's description gives the depth as 17.57 m and the roof as hipped with a Tsumairi entrance, which does not match the agency's figures. This article follows the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
Why the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room was registered
The Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points out that the main room, anteroom, storehouse and kuramae all sit under a single roof frame, with the storehouse fully absorbed into the building.
Because one roof covers everything, the storehouse cannot be seen from outside. The family calls it the Okunchi no Kura, the storehouse of the inner house, and it is said to have been the pawn storehouse of the pawnbroking business run by Nakamura Rihachi. A corridor half a ken (about 90 cm) wide once ran all the way around it, but according to Kiryu City the west side was lost when the document storehouse was rebuilt.
The ink inscription in the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room
The date of the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room comes from an ink inscription on a beam of that storehouse. It opens with the year 2554 of the imperial era, gives the construction date as October 16, 1894, mentions the Sino-Japanese War, and closes with the names of Nakamura Rihachi, the builder, aged 48, and Nakamura Yaichi, aged 14.
The war with China had broken out that summer, so the house was going up in the autumn while it was being fought, and the inscription records the news of the year alongside the date. It sets the 48-year-old Rihachi next to the 14-year-old Yaichi, who would later expand the family business.
A floor plan of the inner room is attached to the rental-property ledger the family has kept, and it matches the building as it stands today almost exactly, so the rooms have not been substantially altered since the ledger was drawn up.
Visiting the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room
The Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room is at the very back of the estate and its interior is not open to the public. From Honcho-dori it is hidden behind the store and the document storehouse.
The only part visible from outside is the north wall, clad in Shitami-itabari clapboard, which faces the alley. The far end of the alley runs onto private land, so please do not walk in. The layout of the whole estate and directions are on the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten and Nakamura Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- When was the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room built?
- An ink inscription on a storehouse beam dates it to October 16, 1894. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 10, 2005.
- What is the storehouse inside the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room?
- The family calls it the Okunchi no Kura. It is said to have been the pawn storehouse of Nakamura Rihachi's pawnbroking business, and because it sits under the same roof, it cannot be seen from outside.
- How are the rooms of the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room arranged?
- A 10-mat main room and a 6-mat anteroom face south, a board-floored kuramae runs along the north side, and the storehouse is built in toward the west end.
- How large is the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives 12 m by 7.6 m and a building area of 85 square meters. Kiryu City gives the depth as 17.57 m.
- Can I visit the Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room?
- No. The interior is closed, and the building is at the back of the estate, out of sight from Honcho-dori.
Basic Information
| Name | Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room (中村家住宅奥座敷) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-6-33 Honcho, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005-11-10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 12 m by 7.6 m, building area 85 square meters |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (at the back of the estate, not visible from the street) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004937
- Cultural Heritage Online: Nakamura Family Residence Inner Room
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/118017
- Kiryu City: Nakamura Family Residence (Nakamura Yaichi Shoten Store) and six other buildings
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/kankou/bunkazai/1010700/kunitouroku/1002002.html
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Nakamura Yaichi Shoten Document Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004934
Last verified: 2026.10.06
