A Reception Wing and a Storehouse on the Onogo Plateau
The Former Sakano Family Residence (旧坂野家住宅) in Onogo-cho, Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture, comprises a shoin reception wing built in 1920 and a bunkogura document storehouse from the early Meiji era, and both were designated an Important Cultural Property in 2023.
The Sakano family settled on this plateau in medieval times as local gentry, and through the Edo period its heads served as headmen of Onogo village. When reclamation work began at Iinuma in 1725, the head of the house was appointed local supervisor of the project. The family compound covers a full hectare of high ground, walled on its southern side and entered through a Yakuimon.
Two other structures on the same compound, the main house and the front gate, had already been designated in 1968. The 2023 decision added the shoin and the storehouse to that existing designation, so all four buildings now sit under a single designation number, 1672.
In 1998 the Sakano family transferred the buildings and the land to Joso City, which owns them today and runs the compound as the Mitsukaido Fudo Museum.
Why These Two Buildings Were Added
The shoin was where successive heads of the household received writers, calligraphers and painters. It became a base for cultural life in the Joso district, and hanging scrolls by figures such as Yamaoka Tesshu have long been displayed in its rooms. The building covers 115.95 square meters, stands 2 storeys high in the Yosemune-zukuri hipped-roof form, and is roofed in Sangawara-buki pantiles. Two covered passages connect it on the east.
What earned the designation, though, is the fabric itself. Fine cabinet timbers were selected room by room, and long runs of glazed sliding doors give the interior a lightness that heavy plaster and thick posts would not allow. The year 1920 places the building at the moment when Japanese domestic architecture was absorbing sheet glass as a working material rather than a novelty.
The bunkogura is a Dozo-zukuri earthen-walled storehouse of 35.28 square meters, also roofed in pantiles, with a covered passage on its south side. The Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education dates it to the first years of the Meiji era and records it as a 2-storey building with a gabled roof. Although built to hold documents and valuables, it was given real design attention, and the citation treats it as a storehouse of unusual quality.
The formal grounds for designation are two: excellence of design, and distinction in regional or stylistic character.
What to Look at
Start with the joinery in the shoin. A wall that is almost entirely glass runs against everything the older main house nearby stands for, with its thick posts and deep shadows. Having an early 18th-century farmhouse and a 1920s reception wing side by side on one plot is what makes the Former Sakano Family Residence worth a slow visit.
The upper floor looks down over the garden. Because the compound sits on a plateau, the view carries.
The storehouse joins the northern end of the shoin's east wing by a covered passage. Across the Former Sakano Family Residence, buildings are linked by such passages and by walls, and they are set out to follow the slope of the ground rather than a grid. Walking between them tells you more than examining each one on its own.
The front gate on the south is a Yakuimon, a type normally reserved for warrior households. That a village headman's family put up such a gate says a good deal about the standing the Sakano enjoyed. The sloping approach and the black board fence beyond it have been used repeatedly as a location for period drama.
Visiting the Former Sakano Family Residence
The Former Sakano Family Residence is open to the public as the Mitsukaido Fudo Museum, and the shoin and storehouse can be seen along with the rest of the compound. Doors open at 9 a.m. Closing is 6 p.m. from April through October and 5 p.m. from November through March, with the ticket desk shutting an hour before each. The site is closed on Mondays, or the following day when a Monday falls on a public holiday, and over the New Year period.
Admission is 300 yen for adults, 100 yen for schoolchildren, and free for visitors aged 65 and over. No booking is needed. Visitors are shown a short introductory film in the earth-floored Doma before walking the route through the buildings.
By public transport, the nearest station is Mitsukaido on the Kanto Railway Joso Line, about 20 minutes away by car or taxi. Drivers should allow roughly 15 minutes from the Joso interchange on the Ken-O Expressway or 20 minutes from the Yawara interchange on the Joban Expressway. The final approach lane is narrow, so watch for oncoming traffic. Parking is available on site.
Joso City publishes no stated policy on photography. The buildings have often served as a filming location, but visitors should ask at the reception desk before taking pictures. Opening hours and admission figures were checked against Joso City and the Joso City Tourism and Products Association in September 2026.
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Q&A
- Can I visit the Former Sakano Family Residence, and what are the hours and admission?
- Yes. It is open as the Mitsukaido Fudo Museum. Doors open at 9 a.m.; closing is 6 p.m. from April through October and 5 p.m. from November through March. Admission is 300 yen for adults, 100 yen for schoolchildren, and free for those aged 65 and over. Closed Mondays and over the New Year period.
- When were the shoin and storehouse of the Former Sakano Family Residence designated?
- On 25 September 2023. The main house and front gate on the same compound had been designated in 1968, and the shoin and storehouse were added to that designation. All four carry designation number 1672.
- How do I reach the Former Sakano Family Residence from Mitsukaido Station?
- Take a taxi or drive; the trip takes about 20 minutes from Mitsukaido Station on the Kanto Railway Joso Line. Bus services are sparse. By car, allow about 15 minutes from the Joso interchange on the Ken-O Expressway or 20 minutes from the Yawara interchange on the Joban Expressway. There is parking on site.
- What kind of building is the shoin at the Former Sakano Family Residence?
- A 2-storey reception wing completed in 1920, covering 115.95 square meters, hipped and roofed in pantiles, with 2 covered passages on the east side. Fine timbers and long runs of glazed doors mark it as modern Japanese-style work, and it served as the room where the family entertained writers and artists.
- Who owns the Former Sakano Family Residence?
- Joso City. The family handed over the buildings and the land in 1998, and the city has been responsible for their upkeep and public opening since then.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Sakano Family Residence (Onogo-cho, Mitsukaido City, Ibaraki Prefecture) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2037 Onogo-cho, Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property |
| Year Designated | 2023 (Reiwa 5) |
| Quantity | 2 buildings (shoin reception wing and bunkogura storehouse) |
| Dimensions | Shoin, building area 115.95 square meters; bunkogura, building area 35.28 square meters |
| Owner | Joso City |
| Public Access | Open to the public as the Mitsukaido Fudo Museum. Doors open at 9 a.m.; closing is 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. depending on the season. Closed Mondays and over the New Year period. Admission 300 yen for adults, 100 yen for schoolchildren, free for visitors aged 65 and over |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Designated Cultural Property Database: Former Sakano Family Residence, Shoin
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/00005503
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Designated Cultural Property Database: Former Sakano Family Residence, Bunkogura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/00005504
- Joso City: Former Sakano Family Residence (Main House, Front Gate, Shoin, Bunkogura)
- https://www.city.joso.lg.jp/kurashi_gyousei/kurashi/gakkou_kyouiku/isan/kuni_bunka/page001478.html
- Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education: Former Sakano Family Residence
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/kuni-13/
- Joso City Tourism and Products Association: Mitsukaido Fudo Museum, Sakano Family Residence
- https://www.joso-kankou.com/page/page000044.html
- Ibaraki Guide: Mitsukaido Fudo Museum, Sakano Family Residence
- https://www.ibarakiguide.jp/spot.php?mode=detail&code=534
Last verified: 2026.09.06
Cultural Treasures in the Same Area
All are within walking distance in the same area, so we recommend visiting them together.
- Former Sakano Family Residence (Oseigocho, Mitsukaido City, Library 0.00 km
- Former Sakano Family Residence (Oseigocho, Mitsukaido City, Shoin 0.06 km