About the Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor
The Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor (梶原家住宅南離座敷, Kajiwara-ke Jūtaku Minami-hanare-zashiki) is a Taisho-era (1912 to 1925) reception annex south of the main house on the Kajiwara estate in Oshio, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2009.
The South Detached Parlor is a single-storey timber building running east to west under a hip-and-gable (irimoya) roof of round tiles (hongawarabuki). It covers 61 square meters.
Two Rooms and a Link to the Tea House
The plan of the Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor is simple: an eight-mat room and a four-mat room with a mizuya, side by side from east to west. The eaves are handled in two ways, cypress bark (hiwadabuki) toward the east and a tiled lean-to toward the west.
A covered walkway leads east to the Shizunoya tea room. Parlor and tea house form a single sequence, so guests can be moved from one to the other as a tea gathering unfolds.
A Room Modeled on Totsutotsusai
The eight-mat room holds a tokonoma, a side alcove and a built-in writing alcove (tsuke-shoin). In the side alcove wall opens a large katomado, the bell-shaped window of temple origin, here given a wave-like outline known as yamamichi.
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the room shows elements copied from Totsutotsusai, a reception hall of the Urasenke school of tea in Kyoto, beginning with its ceiling in the ichi-kuzushi pattern. A salt landlord in a coastal town modeled a room on a hall of a tea grand master's house, and that ambition is the building's defining trait.
The Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor was registered as a model of architectural form, one of only four structures on the estate given that criterion.
Seeing the South Detached Parlor
The Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor belongs to a private home and is not open to the public. Set deep in the compound south of the main house, it is probably out of sight from the road (not verified on site).
Its interior is known only through the descriptions of the Agency for Cultural Affairs and Himeji City. The estate's history and directions appear on the Kajiwara Family Residence (Nishi-Kajiwara) page.
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Q&A
- When was the Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor built?
- In the Taisho era (1912 to 1925). Registration came in 2009.
- What does "a copy of Totsutotsusai" mean for the Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor?
- Its eight-mat room borrows design elements, such as the ichi-kuzushi ceiling, from Totsutotsusai, a hall of the Urasenke tea school in Kyoto.
- What window does the Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor have?
- A large bell-shaped katomado in the side alcove, with a wave-like yamamichi outline.
- Which building connects to the Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor?
- The Shizunoya tea room, reached by a covered walkway to the east.
- Can I visit the Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor?
- No. It is part of a private residence and is not open to the public.
Basic Information
| Name | Kajiwara Family Residence South Detached Parlor |
|---|---|
| Location | 457 Miyanomoto, Oshiocho, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2009 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 61 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private home; exterior from the street) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs database: 梶原家住宅南離座敷
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007896
- Himeji City: 梶原家住宅（西梶原）南離座敷
- https://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/kanko/0000001805.html
Last verified: 2026.09.30
