A One-Room Annex Behind the House
The Hirota Family Residence North Annex (廣田家住宅北離れ) is a small one-room annex of the late Meiji period (1898 to 1912) in Kamisakabe 2-chome, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on 24 June 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records it as a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and 15 square metres of building area, registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country; registration number 28-0760.
The Hirota Family Residence North Annex stands north of the main house on the northern edge of the plot, its west side against the storehouse. Amagasaki City describes the same order: the annex behind the house, the storehouse to its west.
Structure and Plan
The annex measures two and a half bays by one and a half. It has a kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of sangawara-buki tiles, with vertical boarding on the lower walls and white render above.
Inside is a single zashiki of four and a half tatami mats, with a half-bay alcove on the west. A detached room with its own alcove may have served as a small guest room or retreat apart from the main house, but no published record says how it was used.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency values the Hirota Family Residence North Annex as one of the two buildings, with the storehouse, that shape the northern edge of the plot. On its own it covers just 15 square metres, but together with the storehouse it completes the back of the headman's homestead.
What to Look For
The walls of the Hirota Family Residence North Annex change material halfway up. The lower part is tateita-bari, vertical boarding, and above it is white render. Brown boards under a white wall match the treatment of the storehouse next door, which helps the two buildings read as a pair along the north edge of the plot.
The roof is a simple kirizuma-zukuri gable in sangawara-buki pan tiles, lighter than the heavier tiling of the storehouse. The Agency database has a photograph taken from the east showing the small gable end and white walls.
Visiting
The Hirota Family Residence North Annex stands behind the main house on the north edge of the plot and, as part of a private home, is not open to the public; Amagasaki City states that the residence does not admit visitors. The Agency database photograph shows its exterior.
Q&A
- Where is the Hirota Family Residence North Annex?
- North of the main house, on the north edge of the plot, built against the east side of the storehouse.
- What is inside the Hirota Family Residence North Annex?
- A single four-and-a-half-mat reception room with a half-bay alcove on the west.
- When was the Hirota Family Residence North Annex built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Meiji period (1898 to 1912).
- Can I visit the Hirota Family Residence North Annex?
- No. It is part of a private home, and Amagasaki City states that the residence is not open to the public.
- When was the Hirota Family Residence North Annex registered?
- On 24 June 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Hirota Family Residence North Annex (廣田家住宅北離れ) |
|---|---|
| Location | 162 Kamisakabe 2-chome, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/6/24 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled, building area 15 square metres, 2 and a half by 1 and a half bays |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database (private residence) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Hirota Family Residence North Annex (in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013857
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hirota Family Residence North Annex (in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/583046
- Amagasaki City: Hirota Family Residence, registered cultural properties of Amagasaki (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.amagasaki.hyogo.jp/manabu/bunkazai_0/1028308/1028313/1028798.html
Last verified: 2026.10.19
