Three rooms turned towards the garden
The Miyamoto Family Residence Annex (宮本家住宅離れ, Miyamotoke Jūtaku Hanare) is an early Meiji period building of 1868 to 1911, standing at Hojo in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 1 July 2003. It occupies the middle of the western side of the compound, south of the dwelling house, to which it is joined by a corridor.
Its floor area is 60 square metres. Among the 8 registered buildings of the Miyamoto compound this is one of the smaller ones, yet it carries the most concentrated craftsmanship. The frame is timber, single-storeyed, under a Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof running north to south, tiled in Sangawara-buki except at the very edge of the eaves, which is sheeted in copper.
Inside are 3 rooms, one of them a Zashiki fitted with an alcove and a Tsukeshoin writing bay. A Engawa veranda runs along the east and south, while the west wall is boarded in Shitami-itabari. The whole is handled in the manner of Sukiya-zukuri, the restrained teahouse-derived style, which sets the Miyamoto Family Residence Annex apart from the working parts of a merchant's household.
Why it was registered
The Miyamoto Family Residence Annex is registration No. 08-0083, entered under the criterion for buildings that serve as a model of design. Only 3 of the 8 buildings on this plot were registered under that heading rather than for their contribution to the landscape, and it points to the quality of the design itself rather than the role it plays in the street.
Sukiya taste began in the tea room and spread through samurai and townsmen's reception rooms over the course of the Edo period. Slender members, ornament kept down, effect carried by the grain and finish of the materials. A family that had built its fortune brewing soy sauce chose that idiom in the early Meiji years, which says something about what merchants of the day valued.
The same compound holds thick-walled storehouses raised in Dozo-zukuri. Set beside them, this building shows one owner commissioning entirely different kinds of construction according to what each was for.
What to look for
Look first at the copper along the eaves. Most of the roof is tiled, but the outermost strip is sheeted in metal, a way of tidying the detail where rain runs off most heavily. As the copper weathers to green the contrast with the grey tiles grows sharper.
The veranda on the east and south is a device for regulating distance. Seen from the matted room, its boards form a margin that pushes the garden a step further away.
The west wall, boarded rather than plastered, reads differently from the other three sides. Faces that are seen and faces that are not receive different treatment, and the Miyamoto Family Residence Annex applies that rule without exception. Note too how much is packed into 3 rooms: alcove, writing bay and veranda, the full vocabulary of a formal reception room at a modest scale.
Visiting
The Miyamoto Family Residence Annex belongs to a private house and the interior is closed. It sits deep within the plot, so even the exterior is hard to see from the road; what visitors take in is the street front of the compound, the shop storehouse and the gate beside it.
During autumn events the shop storehouse is sometimes opened, which brings you closer to the compound as a whole. The Hojo town-building association announces whether and when this happens.
Photograph from the public road only, and do not enter the private grounds. The plot containing the Miyamoto Family Residence Annex is somebody's home.
Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express is the starting point. From the bus terminal outside it, the Oda Shuttle runs about 45 minutes to Hojo Nakamachi, a few steps from the site; the Hokubu Shuttle takes about 30 minutes to Tsukuba Koryu Center and adds about 10 minutes on foot. Tsuchiura Station is about 40 minutes away by Kantetsu Purple Bus.
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Q&A
- Is the Miyamoto Family Residence Annex open to visitors?
- No. The interior is closed, and because the building stands at the back of the plot the exterior is largely hidden from the street.
- What kind of building is the Miyamoto Family Residence Annex?
- A single-storey timber building of 60 square metres containing 3 rooms, including a matted reception room with an alcove and a writing bay, handled in sukiya style.
- When was the Miyamoto Family Residence Annex built?
- In the early Meiji period, within the range of 1868 to 1911, making it later than the shop storehouse and the dwelling house, which date from the end of the Edo period.
- Under which criterion was the Miyamoto Family Residence Annex registered?
- As a model of design. It was entered on 1 July 2003 as registration No. 08-0083.
- How do I reach the Miyamoto Family Residence Annex?
- Ride the Oda Shuttle out of Tsukuba Center for about 45 minutes and get off at Hojo Nakamachi. From Tsuchiura Station, allow about 40 minutes on the Kantetsu Purple Bus.
Basic Information
| Name | Miyamoto Family Residence Annex |
|---|---|
| Location | 188 Hojo, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 1 July 2003 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 60 square metres, single-storey timber construction |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Interior closed; the building stands at the rear of the plot and is barely visible from the street |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Miyamotoke Jutaku Hanare
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003361
- Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education, Cultural Properties of Ibaraki: Miyamotoke Jutaku Misegura and seven other buildings
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-registered-6404/
- Tsukuba City, Protection of Cultural Properties (list of registered tangible cultural properties)
- https://www.city.tsukuba.lg.jp/kankobunka/bunka/rekishi/1001638.html
- Tsukuba Sanroku Hojo, Hojo Town Development Association: Highlights
- https://tsukuba-hojo.jp/highlights/
- Tsukuba-michi Hojo Sanpo, Hojo Town Development Association: Access
- https://old.tsukuba-hojo.jp/access.html
Last verified: 2026.09.07