The Building That Came First
The Detached Wing of the Former Kishi Residence (旧来住家住宅離れ, Kyū Kishi-ke Jūtaku Hanare, also written Kishike Jutaku Hanare) is a single-storey wooden guest annexe at 394-1 Nishiwaki, Nishiwaki City, Hyōgo Prefecture, dated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to the early Taishō era and entered on Japan's register of Tangible Cultural Properties (Structures) on 14 February 2002 under registration number 28-0093. Its building area is 58 square metres, and the city of Nishiwaki owns it.
It sits southwest of the main house, and the Agency's record makes a point that is easy to skim past: this wing went up before the main house did. The banker Kishi Umekichi built his reception annexe first and his own family's quarters afterwards. Whatever the practical reason, the sequence says something about priorities in a merchant household of the 1910s, where the room in which you received a visitor carried the family's standing more directly than the room in which you slept.
The ridge runs north to south. The roof is irimoya, hipped above and gabled below, covered in sangawara pantiles. At 58 square metres it is small, and it was meant to be.
A Formal Reception Room, Correctly Equipped
Inside are two eight-mat rooms: the zashiki proper and the tsugi-no-ma, the anteroom beside it. The zashiki carries all three elements of a formal shoin interior. There is the tokonoma, the recessed alcove for a hanging scroll and a seasonal arrangement. There is the tana, the staggered shelving used to display incense containers, writing boxes and other small treasures. And there is the tsukeshoin, a shallow built-in desk projecting toward the veranda with a low window above it, a survival from the medieval scholar-priest's writing alcove that had become, by the Taishō period, purely a mark of formality.
A guest seated with their back to that alcove wall occupied the highest position in the room. Everyone Japanese who entered would have read the hierarchy instantly. This is why the presence of all three fittings matters: an annexe equipped this fully was built for guests of consequence, not for family overflow.
The veranda corridor, en-rōka, wraps three sides of the plan, south, east and north. Sliding panels along it can be opened until the rooms have almost no walls left, at which point the interior and the grounds become one continuous space with only a floor level dividing them. Anyone who has sat on a Japanese veranda in June, with the rain coming off the eaves onto the stones below, will recognise what the arrangement is for.
The master carpenter was Adachi Kyūji, the same craftsman responsible for the main house. The Agency's description notes that here too, prize timber and carefully chosen figured wood were placed where each piece would show to advantage. Registration was granted under the criterion for buildings that cannot easily be recreated, and the point is not sentimental. Timber of this grade is largely unobtainable now, and the joinery skills that shaped it are thinly held.
Visiting the Detached Wing
The whole Kishi property is open free of charge, 10:00 to 18:00, closing an hour earlier between October and March. Mondays are closed days, shifting to Tuesday when the Monday is a public holiday, and the house shuts from 29 December to 3 January. Volunteer staff run the reception and will guide visitors around without charge on request, which is worth taking up here in particular, since the annexe rewards someone pointing at things.
The Detached Wing can also be hired. Nishiwaki City sets the rate at 200 yen per hour for the building as a whole, a different arrangement from the main house, where rooms are let individually at 100 yen each. Groups meeting for tea practice, poetry or dance use it. Booking is by advance phone call to the residence on 0795-22-5549.
Spring is the season the local tourism association singles out for the grounds, when moss phlox spreads across the garden in a low sheet of colour. From the veranda, the flowering ground is at eye level for anyone sitting on the tatami inside.
Getting there: Nishiwaki-shi Station on the JR Kakogawa Line is about 1.5 kilometres away, twenty minutes on foot; local buses take under ten minutes and stop nearby. There is parking, with advance consultation needed for coaches. No photography policy is published for the interior, so ask at the desk. Since the annexe is sometimes booked by private groups, a quick call ahead is sensible if seeing this specific building is the reason for the trip.
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Q&A
- What is the Detached Wing of the Former Kishi Residence, and how is it different from the main house?
- It is a single-storey guest annexe of 58 square metres holding two eight-mat rooms, built southwest of the main house and, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, completed before it. The main house is a two-storey family dwelling of 242 square metres; the annexe exists purely for formal reception.
- Can visitors enter the Detached Wing of the Former Kishi Residence, and is there a charge?
- Yes, and admission to the property is free. Volunteer guides are available at no cost. The building may occasionally be in use by a group that has hired it, so calling 0795-22-5549 ahead is advisable.
- Can the Detached Wing of the Former Kishi Residence be rented for an event?
- Yes. Nishiwaki City sets the fee at 200 yen per hour for the building. Advance booking by telephone is required. Rooms in the main house are let separately at 100 yen per room per hour.
- Who built the Detached Wing of the Former Kishi Residence?
- The master carpenter was Adachi Kyūji, who also led work on the main house. The client was Kishi Umekichi, a Nishiwaki banker from a family of yarn merchants.
- What should visitors look at inside the Detached Wing of the Former Kishi Residence?
- The eight-mat zashiki retains the full set of formal fittings: tokonoma alcove, tana shelving and tsukeshoin writing bay. The veranda corridor running along three sides, and the figured timber selected for visible positions, also repay attention.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kishi Residence Detached Wing (旧来住家住宅離れ) |
|---|---|
| Location | 394-1 Nishiwaki, Nishiwaki City, Hyōgo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structures), registration number 28-0093 |
| Year Designated | Registered 14 February 2002; public notice 12 March 2002 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single storey, tiled roof; building area 58 square metres. Dated to the early Taishō era (1912 to 1925) |
| Owner | Nishiwaki City |
| Public Access | Open 10:00 to 18:00 (to 17:00 October to March); closed Mondays and 29 December to 3 January; admission free. Hire fee 200 yen per hour |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Kyu Kishike Jutaku Hanare
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002674
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kyu Kishike Jutaku Hanare
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/115554
- Nishiwaki City: Former Kishi Residence
- https://www.city.nishiwaki.lg.jp/kakukanogoannai/kyouikuiinkai/kyouikukanribu/syougaigakusyuka/syougaigakusyuu/kishi/1356660051070.html
- Nishiwaki City Tourism Pages: Former Kishi Residence
- https://www.city.nishiwaki.lg.jp/kankotokusan/nishiwakikitaharimanokanko/kankou_shigen/1359418680509.html
- Nishiwaki Tourism and Products Association: Former Kishi Residence
- https://www.nishiwaki-kanko.jp/guide/sightseeing/kyukishikejutaku.html
- Nishiwaki Tourism and Products Association: Banshu-ori and Town Centre Walking Course
- https://www.nishiwaki-kanko.jp/modelcourse/banshuori.html
Last verified: 2026.08.26