Yoneda Family Residence Shrine

A Shrine for the Household Deity

The Yoneda Family Residence Shrine (米田家住宅祠, Yoneda-ke Jūtaku Hokora) is a small shrine to the household deity, built in 1941 (Showa 16) in the north-west corner of the Yoneda estate in Uyama, Sumoto City, Hyogo Prefecture, and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2004.

This hokora stands west of the storehouse on a base of finely cut granite blocks and faces south. It is built in the ikkensha nagare-zukuri form and roofed in copper sheet (dōban-buki). At 1.3 square metres it is the smallest of the estate's eight buildings.

A yashikigami, or household deity, is a god enshrined in a corner of a property to protect the home and its land. The published records do not name the deity worshipped here.

Why It Was Registered

The Yoneda Family Residence Shrine was registered on 2 March 2004, in the 41st round of national registrations, as number 28-0149, under the criterion of serving as a model of good design.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, although small, it is built in a full, formal style and with great precision. A shrine tucked into the corner of a private garden takes the same form as the main sanctuary of a Shinto shrine, and its eaves and framing are worked out in detail.

One discrepancy is worth knowing. The list of nationally registered properties published by the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education includes seven Yoneda entries but not the shrine. The Agency's database and Cultural Heritage Online both list it as registration number 28-0149.

What to Look For

The nagare-zukuri profile

In nagare-zukuri, the most common form for Shinto sanctuaries, the front slope of the roof sweeps forward to shelter worshippers. Ikkensha means the front has a single bay between posts. The Yoneda Family Residence Shrine reproduces this sanctuary form in miniature.

Closely set rafters and bracket sets

The eaves use a single layer of closely spaced rafters (taruki), and kumimono bracket sets sit on the posts to carry them, just as on a full-sized shrine.

Carved beams and tie rails

The frame is held together by kōryō beams carved with ornamental patterns and by nageshi rails. A great deal of shrine carpentry is packed into a building of 1.3 square metres.

Visiting

The shrine belongs to a private household. As of October 2026 we found no announcement of public openings or worship, and the grounds are closed. It stands in the north-west corner of the estate, and we could not confirm whether it can be seen from outside the property.

Exterior photographs are available in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database of national cultural properties.