West Partition Wall of the Main House, Hirao Family Residence
The Hirao were among the foremost landowners of Tajima, serving as great village headmen through the Edo period. Their residence in the Morio district of Toyooka spreads across about 4,000 square metres and holds some twenty buildings, from the 1896 main house down to storehouses raised in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the whole compound built up and handed on across generations.
The Structure Itself
A short wall, just 3.6 metres long, links the west face of the main house to the north end of the livestock shed. In its eastern half a 1.8-metre sliding door serves as a pass-through; the western half is finished in white plaster over weatherboard on the south side and in vertical boarding on the north.
For all its modest size, the wall does real work. It draws a clean line between the inward, domestic side of the compound, the ceramics storehouse and the kitchen quarters, and the outward, working spaces beyond, where attendants waited and goods were measured. In a house this large, dividing daily life from labour was itself a matter of careful design.
Why It Was Registered
The estate was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2008, recognising how completely the framework of a great landowner's compound, its main house, quarters, storehouses, walls and waterworks, survives here as a single ensemble. Each registered element earns its place less as a solitary monument than as one part of that larger, coherent whole.
Seeing It Today
The Hirao Family Residence remains a private home and is, as a rule, not open to the public. Visitors should not expect interior access, and the family's privacy asks for a respectful distance. The exterior and its river setting can be appreciated from the public road nearby, and travellers to this corner of Tajima can pair a passing look with the region's more accessible sights: the willow-lined hot-spring town of Kinosaki Onsen, the old castle town of Izushi with its soba and clock tower, and the columnar basalt cliffs of Genbudo Park along the Maruyama River.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Hirao Family Residence?
- No. The residence is privately owned and generally closed to the public. You can view its exterior and river setting from the adjacent public road, but please respect the residents' privacy.
- Why did the estate need so many internal walls?
- A working landowner's compound had to keep domestic life, guests, storage and labour separate. Short walls like this one sorted the estate into inward living spaces and outward working yards, a practical hierarchy built into the plan.
- How old is this part of the estate?
- It dates to the early Showa period (1926–1988). The estate as a whole was built up across generations, from Edo-period storehouses through the 1896 main house to early-Showa additions, so its elements span more than a century.
- What else can I see nearby?
- Toyooka offers Kinosaki Onsen for its hot springs, the castle town of Izushi for soba and historic streets, and Genbudo Park for its dramatic columnar basalt, all within easy reach of the Morio district.
Basic Information
| Name | West Partition Wall of the Main House, Hirao Family Residence (平尾家住宅主屋西仕切塀) |
|---|---|
| Location | 958 Ando, Morio, Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registered | 7 March 2008 (gazetted 19 March 2008) |
| Count | 1棟 |
| Structure | Timber, tiled roof; length 3.6 m |
| Period | early Showa period (1926–1988) |
| Ownership / Access | Privately owned; not open to the public |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs — 平尾家住宅主屋西仕切塀
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006922
- Cultural Heritage Online — Main House, Hirao Family Residence
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/186783
- The Tajima (Tajima Encyclopedia) — Hirao Family Residence
- https://the-tajima.com/spot/393/
Last verified: 2026.07.02