A Three-Storey Inn of the Post-Earthquake Rebuilding
The Mikiya East Building (三木屋東館) is a three-storey timber inn in the centre of Kinosaki Onsen of 1927 in Kinosakicho Yushima, Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 7, 2014 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a three-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 348 square metres, altered in the mid-Showa period and in 1972; registration number 28-0597.
Lobby, Guest Rooms and a Great Banquet Hall
The east wing of Mikiya is a three-storey timber hot-spring inn with a hipped roof of plain tiles, almost in the centre of Kinosaki Onsen; each floor has the same rectangular plan, the entrance is on the north and the south side faces the garden (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The ground floor holds the lobby and a banquet room, the first floor guest rooms and the top floor a great banquet hall with a boat-bottom ceiling (Agency for Cultural Affairs). With the west wing, it keeps well the look of Kinosaki Onsen as rebuilt after the North Tajima earthquake of 1925. A Toyooka City Library leaflet mentions Room 26 at Mikiya, where Shiga Naoya stayed, and dates his first visit to Kinosaki to 1913.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency notes it as a neatly designed Japanese timber inn, and registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.
What to Look For
Look for the boat-bottom ceiling of the top-floor banquet hall and the south front facing the garden (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The owner is not given in the Agency record (the west wing is owned by Mikiya Co., Ltd.). The east and west wings are introduced together on the Mikiya page. No official visiting information was found.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1927 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How are the floors used?
- Lobby and banquet room, guest rooms, and a great banquet hall.
- What period does it recall?
- The rebuilding after the North Tajima earthquake of 1925.
- What is the link with Shiga Naoya?
- A city library leaflet mentions Room 26, where he stayed.
- When was the Mikiya East Building registered?
- On October 7, 2014 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Mikiya East Building (三木屋東館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 487 Kinosakicho Yushima, Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/10/07 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Three-storey timber, tiled roof, 348 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | No official visiting information |
References
- Mikiya East Building (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010218
- Kinosaki walk: Shiga Naoya's stay (Toyooka City Library, Japanese)
- https://lib.city.toyooka.lg.jp/kinosaki/event/docs/siganaoyataizaiki.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.23
