What Is the Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House?
The Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House (旧玉置家住宅主屋, Kyū Tamaoki-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a late Edo-period townhouse facing south onto the old highway in Honmachi 2-chome, Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture, built as a banknote office of the Tatebayashi domain and extended in the late Meiji period, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 14, 2002.
The government record describes a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 166 m², the largest of the six registered buildings at the Former Tamaoki Family Residence. Its registration number is 28-0095. The Miki City History Museum reports a ridge tablet dated Bunsei 9 inside the house, and Miki City dates the Tamaoki main house to 1826. From 1875 it was the Tamaoki family's home.
Why the Tamaoki Main House Was Registered
The Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs begins its description with the setting: a long plot in the center of the old Miki castle town, squeezed between the highway and the Minogawa River, with the main house at the street end facing south. It is the only part of the property that shows itself to the street, so the main house front is, in effect, the public face of the whole residence.
Hyogo Prefecture's landscape guidelines list the house among the landmarks of the Miki castle town district and point to its gabled roof with the ridge parallel to the street, its slatted Mushiko-mado windows and the raised firewalls, called udatsu, at either end. They also note that the interior is open to visitors.
What to Look for in the Tamaoki Main House
A front block and a rear block
The Tamaoki main house follows the Omoteya-zukuri pattern, with a street-front block and a separate block of formal rooms behind it, linked by a Shikidai entrance hall. The front block is a fire-resistant Nuriya-zukuri building, its walls plastered over with earth, with a low Tsushi-nikai half-storey under the roof. From the street it reads as a single townhouse; step through the shikidai and a second, more formal building opens up behind. For an office that handled a domain's money, the two-part plan makes sense.
An open work area and raised rooms
According to the Miki City History Museum, the house combines a shop section roofed in heavy hongawara tiles with living quarters open to the roof, where the beams and roof framing are left exposed. In the rear block, the east side is an earth-floored work area, and the two innermost tatami rooms are raised a step above the rest. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out these raised rooms as the defining feature of the Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House. Stand on the earth floor, look up at the beams, then turn to the raised rooms, and the line between working space and reception space is plain.
From the shop to the god room
Miki City's tourism site draws attention to the depth of the plan, from the back of the shop through the middle room to the kami no ma, the room for the household shrine. The Edo-period office, where notes were swapped for gold and silver, and the Meiji family home sit one behind the other in the same sequence of rooms.
Visiting the Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House
The Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House is the entrance to the whole site, and visitors come in from the street through its front. Admission is free. Volunteer guides are on duty on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and a visit on one of those days means you can hear how each room was used (checked with Miki City on October 2, 2026).
For the exterior, step back across the street: the low windows of the half-storey and the udatsu firewalls at both ends fit into one view from there. Miki City's information does not say whether photography is allowed indoors, so ask at reception or check with a guide first. Opening hours and directions are on the Former Tamaoki Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- When was the Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House built?
- Miki City dates it to 1826 on the evidence of a ridge tablet dated Bunsei 9. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as late Edo, with a late Meiji extension.
- What was the Tamaoki main house originally used for?
- It was a banknote office of the Tatebayashi domain, set up to repair the domain's finances. It issued paper notes, exchanged them for gold and silver and made loans. In 1875 it became the Tamaoki family's home.
- Can I go inside the Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House, and is there a fee?
- Yes. Admission is free, and the house opens from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed on Tuesdays (checked October 2, 2026).
- What are the raised rooms in the Tamaoki main house?
- The two innermost tatami rooms of the rear block have floors set one step higher than the rest. The Agency for Cultural Affairs names them as the main house's defining feature.
- How large is the Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House?
- It is a single-storey timber building with a building area of 166 m², the largest of the six registered buildings on the site.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-454 Honmachi, Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture (street address: 2-2-17 Honmachi) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2002 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 166 m² (single-storey timber, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Miki City |
| Public Access | Open to the public (free; 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; closed Tuesdays) |
References
- Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs database)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002676
- Former Tamaoki Family Residence Main House (Cultural Heritage Online)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/178896
- Former Tamaoki Family Residence (Miki City History Museum, Japanese)
- https://www.city.miki.lg.jp/site/mikirekishishiryokan/12180.html
- Former Tamaoki Family Residence (Miki City Tourism Promotion Division, Japanese)
- https://www.city.miki.lg.jp/soshiki/33/2986.html
- Miki history walk (Miki City tourism site, Japanese)
- https://www.city.miki.lg.jp/odekakeplus/odekake-06.html
- Landscape guidelines for the Miki castle town district (Hyogo Prefecture, PDF)
- https://www.city.miki.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/50874.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.02
