A Big Meiji Farmhouse with a Plastered Face
The Shimanaka Family Residence Main House (島中家住宅主屋, Shimanaka-ke Jūtaku Omoya) is a house built in 1886 (Meiji 19) in Oshokita 2-chome, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.
It is the centrepiece of the Shimanaka homestead on the east bank of the Muko River, and it faces south. From end to end it runs 20 metres, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as imposing. Its footprint of 222 square metres is close to four times that of the other four buildings on the property put together.
What gives the Shimanaka Family Residence Main House its look is the combination of a big irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable roof, a lowered section at the east end, lean-to eaves on three sides, and white shikkui lime plaster carried right up under the eaves. In the low loft under the roof, the front wall is pierced by mushiko-mado, small windows with thick plastered bars.
Why It Was Registered
The main house received registration number 28-0753 in the 99th round of national registrations, dated 2021/6/24, for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Its value lies in its size and in how complete a picture it gives of a substantial Meiji-era house: the great roof with its lowered end and lean-tos, the plastered exterior, the loft windows. Built in the same year as the partition wall that encloses its front garden, it also forms the public face of the homestead together with that wall.
What to Look For
The roof and its lowered east end
The roof is laid with sangawara-buki pan tiles. At the east end the ridge steps down, a feature known as ochimune. Inside, the east end is where the storerooms and kitchen are, so the step in the roofline appears to follow the change in use within. Lean-to eaves, geya, run along the south, west and north sides, adding a lower line of eaves beneath the main roof.
Plaster up to the eaves
The plaster does not stop at the walls; it covers the undersides of the eaves as well, hiding the timber. The result is a solid, heavy-looking exterior.
A loft that does not count as a floor
The national database calls the Shimanaka Family Residence Main House single-storey, and yet there are windows at first-floor height. They belong to the tsushi-nikai, a low loft used for storage rather than living. Because it is not a proper upper floor it is not counted as a storey, so the two descriptions are consistent.
The plan
An earth-floored doma runs through the middle of the house. To its east are nando storerooms and the kitchen. To its west, five living rooms are set out in two rows, with the best room, the zashiki, in the south-west corner. That room looks onto the front garden, and a formal shikidai entrance opens beside it. Presumably the household came and went through the doma, while guests were received through the garden and the shikidai.
Visiting
The Shimanaka Family Residence Main House is still a private home and the interior is not open. As of October 2026 we found no announcement of open days. We have not checked how much of the roof and loft windows can be seen from outside the property. If you pass by, please stay off the grounds and respect the residents' privacy.
A photograph of the south front is published in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
Q&A
- When was the Shimanaka Family Residence Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1886 (Meiji 19). It was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.
- Can I go inside the Shimanaka Family Residence Main House?
- No. It is still a private home, and as of October 2026 there were no announced public openings. The national database has a photograph of the south front.
- How big is the Shimanaka Family Residence Main House?
- It is 20 metres long from east to west, with a building area of 222 square metres. It is by far the largest of the five buildings on the property.
- What is the floor plan of the Shimanaka Family Residence Main House?
- An earth-floored doma runs through the middle, with storerooms and the kitchen to the east and five living rooms in two rows to the west. The best room is in the south-west corner, facing the front garden, with a formal shikidai entrance beside it.
- Why does the single-storey Shimanaka Family Residence Main House have upper windows?
- There is a low storage loft, the tsushi-nikai, under the roof, and its front wall has mushiko-mado windows. As it is not a living floor, it is not counted as a storey.
Basic Information
| Name | Shimanaka Family Residence Main House (島中家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 126 Oshokita 2-chome, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/6/24 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, tiled roof, building area 222 square metres (20 metres long) |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (private residence) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence; no openings announced) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Shimanaka Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013850
- Cultural Heritage Online: Shimanaka Family Residence Main House (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/597819
Last verified: 2026.10.08
