About the Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo
The Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo (旧平賀家住宅東屋, Kyū Hiraga-ke Jūtaku Azumaya) is a steel-framed Western-style garden pavilion built around 1919, now at the Kawanishi City Local Museum in Gezaicho, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on March 29, 2019. The scientist Hiraga Yoshimi set it in the garden of his home.
It has a slate roof and an area of 49 m². The Agency for Cultural Affairs database records that it was moved here from the city centre in 1989. Of the three Hiraga structures, the Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo alone was registered more than 20 years after the others.
A Hexagon on Cast-Iron Columns
The Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo is hexagonal in plan, with a round cast-iron column at each corner carrying a six-sided pyramidal roof of slate. Where Japanese garden shelters were almost always timber, this is a Western gazebo of cast iron and steel.
The six slender columns stand evenly spaced, as if marking out a circle. Walk once around the gazebo and you see how the hexagon looks the same from every direction.
Wainscot, Glass Transoms and a Star-Patterned Floor
Between the columns are boarded lower panels with glazed transoms above, so the pavilion is enclosed at waist height and open to the light overhead, sheltered from some wind and rain without losing its openness.
The floor is washed-finish concrete, scored with joints in a star pattern. Look down and the star spreads out from the centre of the hexagon. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes these details as fine design.
Why It Was Registered
The Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo was registered as a structure that serves as a model of design, under number 28-0715, on March 29, 2019.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a well-designed ancillary structure of a modern house. With the gazebo added to the main house and laboratory, the layout of a Taisho-era Western-style estate comes across more completely.
Visiting the Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo
The Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo stands in the garden of the Hiraga house at the Kawanishi City Local Museum, and you can see into it between the columns (checked October 2026). Ask at reception whether you may step inside.
To take in the whole star pattern, look down at the floor from near the centre of the gazebo. Ask at reception about photography too. Opening days, admission and directions are on the Kawanishi City Local Museum page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo
- [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]
Q&A
- What is the Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo?
- A Western-style garden pavilion that Hiraga Yoshimi placed at his home: steel-framed, hexagonal, with a six-sided slate roof.
- When was the Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo built and moved?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs database dates it to around 1919 and records that it was moved in 1989.
- What should I look for at the Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo?
- The cast-iron columns at each corner, the wainscot and glass transoms between them, and the star-pattern joints in the concrete floor.
- When was the Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo registered?
- On March 29, 2019, under registration number 28-0715.
- Can I see the Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo?
- Yes, it stands in the garden of the Hiraga house at the Kawanishi City Local Museum, and you can see into it between the columns (checked October 2026).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo |
|---|---|
| Location | 41-16 Gezaicho, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2019 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Area 49 m² (steel frame, slate roof) |
| Owner | Kawanishi City |
| Public Access | Open (Kawanishi City Local Museum, admission 300 yen) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 旧平賀家住宅東屋
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012780
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Hiraga Family Residence Gazebo
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/446603
- Kawanishi City: Guide to the Kyodokan Facilities
- https://www.city.kawanishi.hyogo.jp/shiseijoho/shokai/kankouannai/1003058/kyodokan_syosai.html
- Kawanishi City: Kyodokan (Local Museum)
- https://www.city.kawanishi.hyogo.jp/shiseijoho/shokai/kankouannai/1003058/kankou_kyodo.html
Last verified: 2026.10.01
