About the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House
The Kawanishi City Local Museum (Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House) (川西市郷土館（旧平安家住宅主屋）) is a single-storey timber house built in 1918 to 1919 in Gezai, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on December 20, 1996. It was the family home of the Hirayasu, who grew rich refining copper.
Under its tiled roof the house covers 217 m², making it the largest of the 15 registered Hirayasu structures. The entrance wing, annex, bathhouse and storehouses are all arranged around a courtyard with the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House at the centre. Its official address, 8 Kaminocho in Gezai, also differs from the 4-1 Gezaicho given for the other fourteen.
A Farmhouse Plan with Sukiya Touches
The bones of the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House are a traditional six-room plan, or Rokumadori, with rooms set in two rows of three beside an earthen-floored Doma. Kawanishi City sees both the layout and the detailing as part of the local farmhouse tradition.
Two newer ideas sit on top of that frame. The roofs and eaves carry the refined, tea-house manner known as sukiya, and the reception rooms beside the entrance follow a modern plan that keeps guests apart from family life, an arrangement that spread through large Japanese houses in the Taisho era.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the house as keeping traditional methods while changing them at key points. The family kept the farmhouse plan and updated only the parts guests would see, which says a good deal about a household that had done well in an industrial trade.
Timber and Details to Look For
The Hirayasu main house is built mainly of hinoki cypress and zelkova, chosen free of knots. Decorative rafters are left exposed under the eaves of the corridors and verandas, and the alcove posts are of prized timber.
On the courtyard side, the roof is finished in ichimonji-gawara, tiles whose lower edges are cut to form one straight line along the eaves. Stand in the courtyard and look up: the line runs as true as a ruler. Using a different tile on the inward-facing roof than on the outer roofs is a clear sukiya preference.
Inside, take a moment over the grain of the alcove posts and the rhythm of the veranda rafters, details that show the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House was a place for receiving guests as well as a home.
Why It Was Registered
The Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House was registered as a structure that serves as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a fine example of a large Taisho-era residence that carries on traditional methods with changes at key points.
It holds registration number 28-0004 and was included in the first round of registrations on December 20, 1996, half a year before the other 14 Hirayasu structures, which makes it the first part of the estate to be registered.
Visiting the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House
The Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House is the heart of the Kawanishi City Local Museum and can be visited with a museum ticket. It closed in October 2023 for about a year of seismic strengthening and repairs and reopened to visitors on October 12, 2024 (checked October 2026).
The Hirayasu house also holds a mining exhibition room and a room displaying the chopstick collection of Isshiki Hachiro. We found no official guidance on photography inside the house, so ask at reception. 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 Main House)
- [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]
Q&A
- When was the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1918 to 1919, the same years as the other 14 registered Hirayasu structures.
- How is the name of the Former Hirayasu Family Residence read?
- The characters 平安 are read Hirayasu, as the Agency for Cultural Affairs furigana confirms. The name has nothing to do with the Heian era.
- What is distinctive about the plan of the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House?
- It keeps a traditional six-room plan of two rows of three rooms beside an earthen floor, adds sukiya-style roofs and eaves, and has modern reception rooms beside the entrance.
- When was the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House registered?
- On December 20, 1996, as a structure that serves as a model of design, under registration number 28-0004.
- Can I go inside the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House?
- Yes, with a Kawanishi City Local Museum ticket. After seismic work it reopened to visitors on October 12, 2024 (checked October 2026).
Basic Information
| Name | Kawanishi City Local Museum (Former Hirayasu 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 217 m² (single-storey timber, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Kawanishi City |
| Public Access | Open (Kawanishi City Local Museum, admission 300 yen) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 川西市郷土館（旧平安家住宅主屋）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000078
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Hirayasu Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/135848
- Kawanishi City press release: Former Hirayasu Residence Reopens after Seismic Work (PR TIMES)
- https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000356.000098199.html
- 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
