Takarazuka City Central Library Sakuragaoka Reference Room (Former Matsumoto Yasuhiro Residence) Main House

A 1937 Western-Style House in Takarazuka

The Takarazuka City Central Library Sakuragaoka Reference Room (Former Matsumoto Yasuhiro Residence) Main House (宝塚市立中央図書館桜ガ丘資料室（旧松本安弘邸）主屋) is a Western-style house designed by an architect trained in the United States of 1937 in Sakuragaoka, Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 10, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-storey timber house with a tiled roof and a building area of 170 square metres; registration number 28-0194.

A Hipped Roof of S-Tiles and a Bay Window

The main house of the former Matsumoto Yasuhiro residence is a Western-style house with a hipped roof of S-shaped tiles and clapboard on the lower walls (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The entrance canopy rests on paired brackets, the windows are single-pane sashes, and a bay window projects on the west side.

It was designed by Kawasaki Shinobu, who studied architecture at the University of California, and keeps its original appearance well (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to Takarazuka City, it was completed on May 1, 1937, and Kawasaki was a nephew of the client, Doi Kurazo.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency notes it as a Western-style house that keeps its original appearance well, and registered it as a model of design.

What to Look For

Look for the hipped roof of S-shaped tiles, the entrance canopy on paired brackets and the bay window on the west side (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is owned by Takarazuka City and serves as the Sakuragaoka Reference Room of the city central library (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Enquiries go to the library's city history archive, tel. 0797-85-0648 (Takarazuka City). No official information on opening days was found.