The oldest and largest building on the estate
The Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House (コヤノ美術館西脇館（旧藤井家住宅）主屋, shuoku) in Ichihara-cho, Nishiwaki, Hyogo Prefecture, is the 1890 farmhouse at the heart of the Fujii estate, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on December 24, 2013. It was registered on its own, two years ahead of the other eight structures on the site.
It stands in the middle of the plot, facing east: a wooden house of a single storey, with a second floor over part of it, and a building area of 351 square meters. For scale, the detached wing on the same estate covers 82 square meters and the kimono storehouse 79 square meters, so the main house alone is larger than several of its neighbors put together.
The roof is an Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable form in Sangawara-buki pantiles, with a gentle outward swell, or mukuri, along its slopes. A lower lean-to roof, the Geya, wraps around it and carries the eaves out over the surrounding verandas.
Why it was registered: nine rooms open on three sides
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House as a refined and open example of modern Japanese-style architecture, and registered it as a building that contributes to the historic landscape.
The plan explains the word "open." The southern part of the house is an earth-floored Doma, and the raised floor beside it is laid out as a grid of nine rooms, three by three. That is a step up from the four-room Yomadori plan typical of farmhouses. Verandas run along three sides, so with the sliding doors pulled back most of the house opens onto the garden.
According to the museum, the doma rises open to the roof, a Fukinuke crossed by a single massive beam. Where the tatami rooms are orderly and finished, the doma side still shows the working frame of a farmhouse.
What to look for: Tenjin Bridge in the transom
The detail most worth finding in the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House is the carved Ranma transom in the reception rooms. It shows scenes of Osaka in Sukashibori openwork, and one of them is the Tenjinbashi bridge, carved specifically as an iron bridge. A Meiji-era farming family in Harima chose to decorate its best room not with local scenery but with a city view, and a modern piece of engineering at that.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs cites the transom as an example of the house's modern touches. Outside, it is a traditional hip-and-gable farmhouse; inside, the ornament looks to the contemporary city. Because openwork lets light through, the design reads most clearly when you stand in the reception room and look toward the brighter room beyond.
The museum says the 2005 to 2008 restoration replaced floors and walls but kept the original Meiji doors, posts and the raised step at the entrance. The contrast between the worn posts and step and the newer floor is easy to spot once you look for it.
Visiting the main house
The Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House is where the museum tour begins, and visitors on the guided tour go inside, into both the doma and the tatami rooms. Exhibits from the collection are set out in the rooms, so the furnishings change with each exhibition.
Photography is allowed without flash or tripod; for openwork like the transom, turning off the built-in flash keeps the shadows that make the carving legible. The swell of the roof cannot be seen from inside, so take a look up at the roofline from the east side just after entering the front gate. From the west end of the house a long corridor leads toward the detached wing, and the tour continues that way.
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Q&A
- When was the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1890. It was registered on December 24, 2013 (registration no. 28-0565), two years before the other eight structures on the estate, which were registered on November 17, 2015.
- Can visitors go inside the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House, and is photography allowed?
- Yes. The guided tour of the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building takes you into the earth-floored doma and the tatami rooms. Photography is allowed, but not flash (other than a built-in flash for snapshots) or tripods.
- What is carved in the transom of the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House?
- Scenes of Osaka in openwork, including the Tenjinbashi bridge shown as an iron bridge. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out this transom as evidence of the house's modern taste.
- What does the nine-room plan of the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House mean?
- The raised floor is divided into nine rooms, three rows of three. In this house the earth-floored area takes the southern end, and verandas surround the nine-room block on three sides.
- How big is the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House?
- It has a building area of 351 square meters, the largest on the estate. It is wooden, single-storey with a partial second floor, and roofed in pantiles in the hip-and-gable irimoya style with a lean-to roof around it.
Basic Information
| Name | Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 139 Ichihara-cho, Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on December 24, 2013 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single storey with partial 2nd floor, tiled roof, building area 351 m² |
| Owner | Koyano Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Shown on guided tours of the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Sundays; other days by reservation) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009807
- Cultural Heritage Online: Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/270866
- Nishiwaki City: Designated Cultural Properties of Nishiwaki (Japanese)
- https://www.city.nishiwaki.lg.jp/kakukanogoannai/kyouikuiinkai/kyouikukanribu/kyoudoshiryoukan/bunkazai.html
- Koyano Museum of Art: Floor Guide, Nishiwaki Building (Japanese)
- https://koyafron.co.jp/museum/nishiwaki/floor.html
- Koyano Museum of Art: Secrets of Koyano (Japanese)
- https://koyafron.co.jp/museum/honkan/secret.html
Last verified: 2026.10.04
