Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Hyogo

Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House

Hiraga Main House: A 1918 English Country House in Kawanishi

The 1918 home of chemist Hiraga Yoshimi, modelled on the English country house with bay windows, fireplaces and chimneys, moved to the Kawanishi City Local Museum.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Hyogo

About the Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House

The Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House (旧平賀家住宅主屋, Kyū Hiraga-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a single-storey timber Western-style house of 1918 at the Kawanishi City Local Museum in Gezai, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on December 20, 1996. The chemist Dr. Hiraga Yoshimi built it as his home beside the Ina River in the Obe district of Kawanishi.

It has a slate roof and a building area of 152 m². In November 1990 it was moved and rebuilt on the museum grounds. Modelled on the English country house, the Hiraga Family Residence Main House dates from the same year as the Japanese-style Hirayasu house next door, yet shows a completely different idea of home.

Modelled on the English Country House

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the owner, who had studied in Britain, built the house after the English country house, to a design by Matsumoto Tozo of Obayashi, with construction by Konoike. Kawanishi City describes it as following the form of the English rural house with great fidelity.

You see it in the pitch of the roofs, the bay windows, the fireplaces and the chimneys. A chimney rising from a steep slate roof and bays pushing out from the walls make the Hiraga house stand out at once among the Japanese buildings of the museum grounds.

Pebble-Dash Walls and Rooms for Living

The outer walls of the Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House are finished in a washed pebble render, with the small stones left showing, and the footings are of granite. The roof is framed with Western-style trusses and covered in slate. Stand close to a wall and you can see the pebbles set in the render.

Inside are a drawing room, a study and bedrooms, with bay windows and fireplaces, and practical touches such as double windows. Kawanishi City calls the design neat and refined, held together by well-judged ornament: an English form, adapted with care for a Japanese climate.

Why It Was Registered

The Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House was registered as a structure that serves as a model of design, under number 28-0005, in the first round of registrations on December 20, 1996, alongside the Hirayasu main house (28-0004).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a fine Taisho-era example of the full-scale Western residence that became fashionable from the late 19th century. Kawanishi City regards it as a typical Taisho house and an important building in the history of modern Japanese architecture, and it is one of Hyogo Prefecture's 100 selected modern homes.

Visiting the Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House

The Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House can be seen with a Kawanishi City Local Museum ticket. The museum's own website could not be reached when we checked, so we could not confirm whether the Hiraga house keeps the same opening days as the Hirayasu house; please check with the museum before you go (checked October 2026).

Find an angle where the chimney and a bay window line up: that is where the country-house character comes through most clearly. 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 Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House; [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]

Q&A

QWho built the Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House?: AThe chemist Dr. Hiraga Yoshimi, as his home in 1918, to a design by Matsumoto Tozo of Obayashi, built by Konoike.

QWhere did the Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House originally stand?: ABeside the Ina River in the Obe district of Kawanishi; it was moved and rebuilt at the Kawanishi City Local Museum in November 1990.

QWhat should I look for at the Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House?: AThe English country-house roof pitch, bay windows, fireplaces and chimneys, and the pebble-dash walls.

QWhen was the Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House registered?: AOn December 20, 1996, under registration number 28-0005.

QCan I go inside the Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House?: AYes, with a Kawanishi City Local Museum ticket, but check with the museum whether the Hiraga house opens on the same days as the Hirayasu house (checked October 2026).

Basic Information

Name	Former Hiraga Family Residence Main House
Location	8 Kaminocho, Gezai, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure)
Year Designated	1996 (registered)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Building area 152 m² (single-storey timber, slate roof)
Owner	Kawanishi City
Public Access	Open (Kawanishi City Local Museum, admission 300 yen)