A Sukiya-Style House Above the Onomichi Channel
The Former Fukui Family Residence Main House (旧福井家住宅主屋) is the main house of a residence of 1912 in Higashitsuchidocho, Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 8, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its west wing was added in 1927.
The Agency records a single-storey timber house with a tiled roof and a building area of 210 square metres; registration number 34-0062.
Two Wings Joined at the Entrance
The main house faces south on a slope above the Onomichi Channel (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The east wing, under a hipped roof, dates from 1912, and the west wing, under a hip-and-gable roof, from 1927; the two are deftly joined at an entrance near the middle.
Both wings are roofed in pantiles, and although they were built 15 years apart and carry different roof forms, they read as a single house (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency notes the fine workmanship, mostly in Japanese cypress with prized woods such as maple and ironwood (tagayasan), finished in an elegant sukiya style, and registered it as a model of design.
Linked to the Tea Room and Storehouse
A tea room of 1928 is attached to the northwest corner of the west wing, and a storehouse stands to the north with its front room running into the main house (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Both are also Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, built with the same good timber and care.
What to Look For
From the south, compare the hipped roof of the east wing with the hip-and-gable roof of the west wing, and find the entrance between them (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Inside, the sukiya-style joinery pairs Japanese cypress with prized maple and ironwood.
Visiting
The residence served as Onomichi City's Literature Memorial Room, which closed at the end of March 2020 (paper in the research reports of the Chugoku Chapter of the Architectural Institute of Japan). No official notice of the interior reopening has been found since.
Q&A
- When was the main house built?
- The east wing in 1912 and the west wing in 1927 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is distinctive about the main house?
- A hipped east wing and a hip-and-gable west wing joined at a central entrance, in an elegant sukiya style.
- What woods were used?
- Mainly Japanese cypress, with prized woods such as maple and ironwood.
- Can I visit the main house?
- The Literature Memorial Room closed at the end of March 2020, and no notice of reopening has been found.
- When was the Former Fukui Family Residence Main House registered?
- On November 8, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Fukui Family Residence Main House (旧福井家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 163-1 Higashitsuchidocho and others, Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2004/11/08 (Heisei 16) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof, 210 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | Literature Memorial Room closed in 2020 (no notice of reopening) |
References
- Former Fukui Family Residence Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004411
- Shimakawa Daigo and Tanikawa Daisuke, research on the former residence of Shiga Naoya in Onomichi (Architectural Institute of Japan, Chugoku Chapter research reports, vol. 48, Japanese)
- https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aijchugoku/48/0/48_845/_pdf/-char/ja
Last verified: 2026.10.20
