Uehara Family Residence (Amagasaki)

About the Uehara Family Residence

The Uehara Family Residence (上原家住宅, Uehara-ke Jūtaku) in Nagasu Hondōri, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, is the estate of the family that served as village headmen of Naka-Nagasu, and its six buildings, put up between the late Edo and early Meiji eras, were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in 2011.

A second group of registered buildings in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, carries the same name, so this site labels the Amagasaki estate Uehara Family Residence (Amagasaki). The six registrations are the Main House, the Annex, the Barn, the Rice Storehouse, the South Storehouse and the Gate.

Amagasaki City describes the Uehara as an old family who held the post of headman in Naka-Nagasu from early times. The estate stands in what was that village, south of JR Amagasaki Station, with Nagasu Tenman Shrine directly across the road to the west. Houses and shops have filled the neighbourhood, yet the compound keeps the layout of a headman's home.

Naka-Nagasu itself dates from the Edo period. According to apedia, the online dictionary of local history published by Amagasaki City, the old village of Nagasu is thought to have been split into four, Naka-Nagasu, Higashi-Nagasu, Nishi-Nagasu and Daimotsu, after the Aoyama family took charge of Amagasaki domain in 1635. Naka-Nagasu and Higashi-Nagasu were joined again as Nagasu village in 1883.

The Six Registered Buildings

All six parts of the Uehara Family Residence were registered on 26 January 2011 under consecutive numbers 28-0461 to 28-0466. The Main House was registered as a model of architectural form; the other five were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives these dates and sizes.

• Main House: late Edo period. Single-storey timber building, 138 m²
• Barn: early Meiji era, extended in the late Meiji era. Two-storey timber building, 61 m²
• Rice Storehouse: later Edo period. Two-storey clay-walled storehouse, 20 m²
• Gate: early Meiji era. Two-storey timber gate, 4.1 m wide
• Annex: early Meiji era. Single-storey timber building, 20 m²
• South Storehouse: early Meiji era, renovated in 1986. Single-storey clay-walled storehouse, 60 m²

The Rice Storehouse is the oldest, followed by the Main House; the remaining four belong to the early Meiji era. Amagasaki City's own list gives areas to two decimal places, putting the Main House at 138.27 m² and the Gate at 21.12 m².

For the South Storehouse, the length and depth quoted in the agency's description do not multiply out to its registered floor area. The South Storehouse page sets out both figures.

How the Uehara Family Residence Is Laid Out

The Uehara Family Residence occupies a corner plot. Reading the agency's six descriptions together gives a fair picture of the plan. The Main House runs along the north side, with the Barn joined to its east end. On the west side, the Rice Storehouse stands at the centre, the Gate to its south and the Annex in the south-west corner, the three built hard against one another. The South Storehouse sits in the south-east corner facing west onto the garden.

The agency singles out the west side: the Rice Storehouse, Gate and Annex together form the formal street front of the headman's house, their ridges set at different heights so that the roofs step along the road.

Buildings that look separate from outside are linked within. The Gate has an upper floor reached by a stair from the Annex, and the two upstairs reception rooms of the Barn are reached by a stair from the Main House.

The later Edo storehouse and the late Edo house came first; the early Meiji barn, annex, gate and south storehouse completed the compound. Each building has its own page with its structure and details.

Visiting the Uehara Family Residence

The Uehara Family Residence is a private home, and Amagasaki City states plainly that it is not open to the public. Visitors cannot enter the grounds and can see only what shows from the street. No special openings had been announced as of October 2026.

The road on the west, between the estate and Nagasu Tenman Shrine, is the place to look from: the Rice Storehouse, Gate and Annex all face it. The agency also notes that the back of the Barn faces an alley, where it keeps a double roof and walls matched to the Main House. How much can be seen has not been checked on site. Please photograph only from the public road, and do not linger at the gate or peer into the grounds.

The nearest station is JR Amagasaki. The Uehara Family Residence lies about 1 km south of it in a straight line, roughly a 15-minute walk (an estimate from the map). Hanshin Bus stops at Tenman Jinja, directly in front of the shrine. There is no visitor parking.