Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Hyogo

Kawanishi City Local Museum (Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn)

Hirayasu Great Barn: Two Joined Barns of 1919 on the Estate's Edge

The 1919 Great Barn on the east edge of the Hirayasu residence in Kawanishi City Local Museum: two joined buildings with an earthen floor and a mezzanine at one end.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Hyogo

About the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn

The Kawanishi City Local Museum (Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn) (川西市郷土館（旧平安家住宅大納屋）) is a single-storey timber barn of 1918 to 1919 in Gezaicho, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on May 7, 1997. It marks the eastern boundary of the estate and is the largest of the Hirayasu barns.

It has a gabled tiled roof and a building area of 40 m². Set beside the North Barn (15 m²), South Barn (22 m²) and West Barn (9.4 m²), the scale of the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn is plain to see.

Two Buildings Joined as One

From outside the Great Barn looks like one long building, but it is in fact two independent buildings joined end to end, a point the Agency for Cultural Affairs makes clearly.

The join shows only as a slight shift in the roofline or in the spacing of posts along the wall. Walk the length of the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn and see if you can spot where one building ends and the other begins.

Earthen Floor and a Mezzanine

Inside, the Great Barn has an earthen floor with no raised boards. It was a working building, for keeping tools and bringing goods in and out.

Only the southern room has a mezzanine, dividing the space above the earthen floor into two levels and adding a storage floor within a single-storey barn. From outside, watch for changes in the openings or wall framing toward the south end, which hint at the mezzanine within.

A Closed Front in Exposed-Post Walls

The walls of the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn are Shinkabe, with posts left visible in the wall face, unlike the storehouses whose posts are buried in plaster. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the barn as plain, with a closed, inward-turned front.

By presenting a long wall with few openings to the outside, the barn itself becomes the edge of the estate. In the eastern row of storehouses and barns, it provides the longest stretch of wall.

Why It Was Registered

The Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn was registered as a structure that serves as a model of design, under number 28-0012, on May 7, 1997, together with 13 other Hirayasu structures.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs regards it as a standard barn of the Taisho era, plain in construction. It was registered not for any special design but because it shows what a barn of its time typically was.

Visiting the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn

The Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn stands on the east side of the Kawanishi City Local Museum grounds. Official sources do not say whether the interior is open, so expect to view it mainly from outside (checked October 2026).

The join between the two buildings and the mezzanine at the south end are easiest to find by walking along the wall from inside the grounds. Ask at reception about photography. Opening days, admission and directions are on the Kawanishi City Local Museum page.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kawanishi City Local Museum (Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn); [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]

Q&A

QWhere is the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn?: AOn the eastern boundary of the Hirayasu estate.

QHow is the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn built?: AAs two independent buildings joined end to end, so it looks like one long building from outside.

QWhat is inside the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn?: AAn earthen floor, with a mezzanine in the southern room.

QWhen was the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn registered?: AOn May 7, 1997, under registration number 28-0012.

QCan I go inside the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn?: AOfficial sources do not say whether the interior is open; the exterior can be seen within the Kawanishi City Local Museum grounds (checked October 2026).

Basic Information

Name	Kawanishi City Local Museum (Former Hirayasu Family Residence Great Barn)
Location	4-1 Gezaicho, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure)
Year Designated	1997 (registered)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Building area 40 m² (single-storey timber, tiled roof)
Owner	Kawanishi City
Public Access	Open (Kawanishi City Local Museum, admission 300 yen)