Hino Family Residence Western-Style Annexe
Attached to the south-east corner of the main house, the Western-style wing of the Hino residence dates from 1936, the eleventh year of the Shōwa era. It is a two-storey timber building of about 92 square metres, and its clapboard walls and paired sash windows announce a change of register from the tiled farmhouse beside it.
The building went up while the family was still active in regional business and public works, and its plan reflects that working life. It stands in Fukase, Kōda-chō, in Aki-Takata, Hiroshima Prefecture, alongside National Route 54.
A hipped roof covered with pantiles crowns the wing, and above the central entrance on the south side a small canopy is carried on geometrically patterned brackets.
Why It Matters
The annexe was registered as a tangible cultural property on 17 November 2015 for its part in the historic landscape. It shows how a rural family adopted Western forms in the early twentieth century without abandoning its older buildings.
The interior is organised for use rather than display. The ground floor holds an office and a reception room, where the family received guests and handled the paperwork of its enterprises. The upper floor is given over to a single meeting room, a space for gathering rather than living.
Small fittings carry much of the building's value. On the inside of the windows, roller blinds made of Japanese paper survive, a quiet detail that records how the room was actually shaded and used.
What to Look For
From outside, the contrast is the pleasure: the horizontal boarding, the rows of sash windows and the little bracketed canopy sit directly against the plaster and tile of the traditional buildings. The wing shows a household comfortable moving between two building languages within a single compound.
Look for the geometric brackets over the south door and the rhythm of the upper windows, which give the modest building its character. Inside, the surviving paper blinds are the kind of ordinary object that rarely lasts.
As a private residence the site is not open for interior visits, and the annexe is best seen from the road as part of the whole group. Those wishing to go indoors somewhere nearby can head to the Aki-Takata City Museum of History and Folklore or walk the open grounds of Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle.
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Q&A
- When was the Western-style wing built?
- In 1936, and it is attached to the south-east side of the main house.
- What was it used for?
- The ground floor held an office and reception room and the upper floor a meeting room, reflecting the family's business and public activities.
- Is there anything original left inside?
- Yes. Roller blinds of Japanese paper survive on the interior of the windows.
- Can visitors enter?
- No, it is part of a private residence, but the exterior can be viewed from the road.
Basic Information
| Name | Hino Family Residence Western-Style Annexe / 日野家住宅洋館 |
|---|---|
| Location | 172 Kō and 172 Otsu (merged), Fukase, Kōda-chō, Aki-Takata, Hiroshima |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registered | 17 November 2015 (registration no. 34-0149) |
| Structure | Two-storey timber, tiled hipped roof, floor area approx. 92 m² |
| Built | 1936 (Shōwa 11) |
| Access | Privately owned; not generally open to the public |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁） — 日野家住宅洋館
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010892
- 安芸高田市 — 日野家住宅
- https://www.akitakata.jp/ja/shisei/section/kyouiku/shisekibunkazai/cultural_asset/r899/
- 文化遺産オンライン — 日野家住宅主屋
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/276956
Last verified: 2026.07.03