Ashida Family Residence Main House

The Main House of a Village Elder's Family

The Ashida Family Residence Main House (芦田家住宅主屋) is the main house of a farming family of 1931 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 194 square metres, altered in the late Showa period; registration number 28-0434.

A Hip-and-Gable House in the Northwest Corner

The Ashida Family Residence Main House stands in the northwest corner of the estate and measures 16 metres by 11 metres (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its hip-and-gable roof is laid with sangawara pantiles, a lean-to pent roof runs round the walls, and a second small hip-and-gable roof juts out from the middle of the north side.

The records are not quite consistent about its height. The Agency's structural entry calls it single-storey, while its own description calls it a tsushi two-storey house, meaning a low upper floor tucked under the roof. Amagasaki City also mentions second-floor posts and shutters, which fits that reading.

Inside, an earthen-floored Doma work area lies toward the west end, and the raised floor follows an enlarged version of the six-room Rokumadori plan (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Amagasaki City dates the house to around 1931.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency singles out the contrast between the black plaster of the Shinkabe walls, where the timber frame stays visible, and the red ochre painted on the posts, beams and storm shutters. It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.

Amagasaki City notes that black-plastered ground-floor walls are typical of houses in Kamikema, and counts the Ashida Family Residence among the very few buildings in the city that still convey the look of a farming village.

What to Look For

Each face of the house is finished differently. According to Amagasaki City, the south front is clad in zelkova clapboard held by notched battens, the west side in vertical boards of charred cedar, and the ground-floor walls in black plaster with the frame exposed.

The red-ochre posts and shutters of the upper floor were reportedly visible from Tano, across the Mo and Ina rivers to the east, and served as a local landmark (Amagasaki City). Black walls against red timbers are what define the Ashida Family Residence Main House.

Visiting

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