Ashida Family Residence Barn

A Plain Edo-Period Barn Beside the Storehouse

The Ashida Family Residence Barn (芦田家住宅納屋) is the barn of a farming family of the late Edo period in Kema, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 2, 2009 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 69 square metres; registration number 28-0436.

A Barn Built Against the Storehouse

The Ashida Family Residence Barn adjoins the storehouse on its west side, a single-storey timber building measuring 12 metres by 5.8 metres (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its gabled roof of sangawara pantiles sweeps straight down on the north side over an open bay half a ken deep, a covered strip with no walls or doors.

On the south side, posts stand at every half ken; the frame is left exposed in the Shinkabe manner, the lower wall is finished in vertical boarding, and two windows are fitted with horizontal lattices (Agency for Cultural Affairs). An open bay under a low eave like this is common on farm barns, giving sheltered space for tools and work in wet weather.

Both the Agency and Amagasaki City date the barn to the late Edo period. Unlike the storehouse, which was moved in the late Showa period, no move is recorded for the barn.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency describes the Ashida Family Residence Barn as plain yet gentle in character and registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.

It is a working building without ornament, yet the regular rhythm of posts, boarded lower walls and latticed windows on the south side gives the yard a settled look. With the main house and storehouse it shows how a farming estate was arranged from the Edo period on.

What to Look For

Look for the posts set every half ken along the south side, the boarded lower wall and the two latticed windows (Agency for Cultural Affairs). On the north side, the open bay runs beneath the low sweep of the roof.

The Ashida Family Residence Barn stands eave to eave with the storehouse to the east, and the lighter pantiles of the barn can be compared with the heavier hongawara tiles next door.

Visiting

According to Amagasaki City, the Ashida Family Residence is a private home and is not open to the public. The barn cannot be entered and the grounds are private. The estate's location and distances from nearby stations are on the Ashida Family Residence page.