What Is the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building?
The Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building (小田垣家住宅便所及び風呂棟, Odagaki-ke Jūtaku Benjo oyobi Furotō) is a small single-storey timber building of the Taisho era on the Odagaki Shoten property in Tatemachi, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 2, 2007. It stands east of the tea room and covers 15 square meters.
A corridor with a boat-bottom ceiling runs through the middle, with the toilet to the north and the bath to the south. The bath section, a dressing room about two mats in size plus the bathroom, has a gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) roof of Sangawara-buki tiles with its ridge running east to west. A covered corridor links the building to the detached room.
Why the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building Was Registered
The Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building was registered, like the other nine Odagaki buildings, for its contribution to the historic landscape. A toilet and bath are not what most people expect to find on a list of cultural properties, and that is part of what makes this one interesting.
The agency's description credits the building with a Sukiya-zukuri style of finish, the refined manner associated with tea houses. In the Taisho era, the Odagaki family applied the same level of craftsmanship to its bathroom as to its reception rooms. Given the corridor to the detached room, the building appears to have served the guest wing.
Ceilings of the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building
The ceilings are the thing to notice in the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building. The corridor and the bathroom have boat-bottom ceilings, raised along the center and sloping down at the sides like an upturned hull. The dressing room has an Ajiro-tenjō, a ceiling of thin strips woven in a basket pattern.
Two different ceiling types in a building of just 15 square meters means the view overhead changes at every step, from corridor to dressing room to bath. It is tea-house craft carried into the steamiest rooms of the house.
Placed between the tea room on the west and the detached room at the end of its corridor, the building links the two.
The Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building Today
Odagaki Shoten finished restoring all ten buildings in spring 2025 and turned two residential ones into Mameya, a guesthouse let to one party at a time. The mayor of Tamba-Sasayama described the guesthouse as a Taisho-era dwelling. The only Taisho-era buildings among the ten are this one and the detached room, and the two are joined by a corridor, so they are likely the pair that became Mameya; no official source we found names them outright.
Either way, Mameya does not admit anyone who is not a guest, and the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building is not open to the public. It stands inside the property and cannot be seen from the street (checked September 2026). Directions are on the Odagaki Shoten page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building
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Q&A
- When was the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building to the Taisho era, 1912 to 1925.
- Can I visit the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building?
- No. The Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building is not open to the public and cannot be seen from the street (checked September 2026).
- What is special about the ceilings in the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building?
- The corridor and bathroom have boat-bottom ceilings and the dressing room has a woven ajiro ceiling, two ceiling types in one small building.
- Which building is the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building connected to?
- A covered corridor links it to the detached room; the tea room lies just to the west.
- When was the Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building registered?
- It was registered on October 2, 2007, under registration number 28-0290.
Basic Information
| Name | Odagaki Family Residence Toilet and Bath Building |
|---|---|
| Location | 15 Tatemachi and others, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture (listed as Sasayama City in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered October 2, 2007 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof, building area 15 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 小田垣家住宅便所及び風呂棟
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006356
- Odagaki Shoten official site: Accommodation
- https://www.odagaki.co.jp/accommodation
- Tamba-Sasayama City: Mayor's diary, April 18, 2025 (opening of Mameya)
- https://www.city.tambasasayama.lg.jp/gyoseijoho/shichonoheya/shichonikki/2025/4/28689.html
- Mameya: FAQ
- https://mameya.odagaki.co.jp/faq
Last verified: 2026.09.28
