A Two-Storey Workshop Beside the Front Gate
The Akagi Family Residence East Workshop (赤木家住宅東作業場, Akagi-ke Jūtaku Higashi Sagyōba) is a two-storey timber farm building from the mid-Meiji period on the east side of the Akagi estate at 972 Hikino in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 March 2006.
It fills the stretch of the east side south of the front gate, with the east rice storehouse beyond it. At 7 bays by 2 and a half bays, with a building area of 174 square metres, it is second in size only to the main house among the registered buildings.
Under a gabled roof of pantiles, the Akagi Family Residence East Workshop joins the front gate and the guardhouse in making up the side of the estate that faces the road.
Earth Floor, Cattle Shed, Loft
A great deal is packed into one building.
The south end is an earth-floored work area, a doma, where harvests could be spread out and handled. The north part has a raised timber floor, with a cattle shed and an outdoor toilet attached on its west side. A storage room fills the gap between the workshop and the rice store, and the whole upper floor is a board-floored loft for storage.
A cattle shed under the same roof points to a large farm that worked draught animals. Tajima no Hyakka Jiten, a regional encyclopedia, describes the Akagi family of the Meiji and Taisho years as landowners who farmed their own extensive holdings, and this is the building where that work was done.
Work Floor Next to the Grain Store
Immediately south of the Akagi Family Residence East Workshop stands the east rice storehouse, said to have held rice paid as land tax, with a small storage room linking the two. The floor where the crop was handled and the store where it was kept sit side by side on the same edge of the property.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits the workshop with shaping the east side of the estate, and it was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Seeing the East Workshop
The workshop stands on the road side of the property, just south of the front gate, so its two-storey bulk can be seen from outside. Next to the single-storey guardhouse and the gate, the height added by the storage loft is plain to see.
The residence is a family home and is generally closed to the public, and no opening of the workshop's interior has been announced. Photography rules are not published; ask on arrival.
Directions and the terms for visiting the property are on the Akagi Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Akagi Family Residence East Workshop registered?
- It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) on 2 March 2006, on the same day as the other 15 registered structures of the residence.
- How large is the Akagi Family Residence East Workshop?
- It is a two-storey timber building of 7 by 2 and a half bays with a building area of 174 square metres, second only to the main house among the registered buildings.
- What is inside the Akagi Family Residence East Workshop?
- An earth-floored work area at the south end, a raised-floor section to the north with a cattle shed and outdoor toilet on its west side, a storage room next to the rice store, and a board-floored storage loft upstairs.
- Why does the Akagi Family Residence East Workshop have a cattle shed?
- Most likely because the family ran a large farm with draught cattle. The Akagi family is described as landowners who farmed their own extensive holdings in the Meiji and Taisho years.
- Can visitors see the Akagi Family Residence East Workshop?
- Its exterior faces the road on the east and can be seen from outside, but no interior opening has been announced and the residence is generally closed. See the Akagi Family Residence page for visiting terms.
Basic Information
| Name | Akagi Family Residence East Workshop (赤木家住宅東作業場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 972 Hikino, Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2006/03/02 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber, gabled, pantiled; 7 by 2 and a half bays; building area 174 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the ACA database |
| Public Access | No announced interior opening; residence generally closed |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Akagi Family Residence East Workshop (赤木家住宅東作業場)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005320
- Cultural Heritage Online: Akagi Family Residence East Workshop (赤木家住宅東作業場)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/141088
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Akagi Family Residence East Rice Storehouse (赤木家住宅東籾蔵)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005319
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Akagi Family Residence Front Gate (赤木家住宅表門)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005322
- Tajima no Hyakka Jiten (Tanshin Regional Promotion Fund): Akagi Family Residence (赤木家住宅)
- https://tanshin-kikin.jp/tajima/564
Last verified: 2026.09.26
