The house of the Tanaka Manbei line in Kashu
The Tanaka Family Residence Main House (田中家住宅主屋, Tanaka-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) in Kashu Tachikawase, Minamiawaji City, Hyogo Prefecture, is the main house of a wealthy local family, built in 1881 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 5, 2007 (number 28-0298). It stands in the middle of its plot, facing south, beside the old national road in southern Awaji Island that was long known locally as a pilgrims' route.
Minamiawaji City describes the property as the home of the Tanaka family, one of Kashu's moneyed houses, whose heads took the name Manbei generation after generation. The fifth Tanaka Manbei is the best remembered: in the mid-Meiji period he bought farmland until he held roughly 50 chō (about 50 hectares), was a leading figure in Awaji's dairy farming, and is said to have taken part in founding Dantōsha, the company that became today's Danto Corporation.
A different Tanaka Family Residence Main House, registered in 2010, stands in Amagasaki on the mainland. The two are separate families and separate listings.
Earthen floor, raised rooms and a central corridor
The Tanaka Family Residence Main House is seven bays by six (the Ketayuki and Harima spans), under a hip-and-gable roof laid in round and flat tiles, with a Tsushi-nikai loft in the roof space. It covers 305 square meters, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs classes it as a single-story timber building.
The east side is an earthen-floored work area (Doma) and the west side holds the raised living rooms. What sets the plan apart is a central corridor (naka-rōka) running between the best room in the southwest corner and the family living room to the northwest. Minamiawaji City points out that a corridor of this kind was unusual for its time.
A sukiya-style addition on the west
The four bays across the west front are an addition, with work recorded in 1922 and in the early Showa period. This wing holds a Buddhist altar room, a storeroom (Nando), a tea room (Chashitsu) and other spaces, all finished with the light, refined joinery of the sukiya style.
Read on plan, the Tanaka Family Residence Main House shows a Meiji farmhouse core to which later generations added rooms for receiving guests in the Taisho and early Showa years. Even from the road, the bulk of the house and the weight of its tiled hip-and-gable roof make an impression.
Why it was registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the Tanaka Family Residence Main House as a building that has become a model of its type in form and design. Its description singles out the corridor between the southwest guest room and the northwest living room, and calls the west wing sukiya in style, with finely made joinery.
Minamiawaji City presents the house alongside the story of Tanaka Manbei, whom it credits with a leading role in Awaji's culture and economy across the Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras.
Visiting
The Tanaka Family Residence Main House is privately owned, and no public opening has been announced (as of October 2026). You cannot enter the grounds or see inside. Because it faces the old national road, the exterior can be viewed from the street; please do not linger or look into the property, and keep photography to the outside view from the road.
The house is in Kashu Tachikawase, about 4.5 kilometers south of the Seidan-Mihara Interchange on the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway and about 3 kilometers northeast of central Fukura, both as the crow flies. It is not a visitor facility and has no parking. If you plan to use local buses, check routes and timetables within Minamiawaji in advance.
Q&A
- Where is the Tanaka Family Residence Main House in Minamiawaji?
- In Kashu Tachikawase, Minamiawaji City, Hyogo Prefecture, in the middle of its plot beside the old national road, facing south.
- When was the Tanaka Family Residence Main House built and registered?
- It was built in 1881 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 5, 2007, as number 28-0298.
- Who lived in the Tanaka Family Residence Main House?
- The Tanaka family of Kashu, whose heads took the name Manbei. The fifth Manbei became a major landowner and is credited with promoting dairy farming on Awaji.
- What is unusual about the Tanaka Family Residence Main House plan?
- A central corridor runs between the main guest room and the living room, and a later west wing adds an altar room, storeroom and tea room in sukiya style.
- Can visitors go inside the Tanaka Family Residence Main House?
- No. It is a private home with no public opening announced, but the exterior can be seen from the old national road.
Basic Information
| Name | Tanaka Family Residence Main House (田中家住宅主屋), Minamiawaji |
|---|---|
| Location | 28-1 Iyashiki, Kashu Tachikawase, Minamiawaji City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | National Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); registration number 28-0298 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2007/12/05 (Heisei 19) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-story timber with loft; hip-and-gable roof of round and flat tiles; 7 by 6 bays; building area 305 square meters |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | No public opening announced (private home); exterior visible from the road |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Tanaka Family Residence Main House (Minamiawaji)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00006612
- Cultural Heritage Online: Tanaka Family Residence Main House (Minamiawaji)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/153215
- Minamiawaji City Historical and Cultural Heritage: Tanaka Family Residence Main House
- https://www.city.minamiawaji.hyogo.jp/bunkaisan/bunkazai/r-80.html
Last verified: 2026.10.04