What Is the Sato Family Residence Main House?
The Sato Family Residence Main House (佐藤家住宅主屋, Satō-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a two-storey house built in 1901 on the Yokoya Sake Brewery and Sato Family Residence site in Senmaya, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003.
It sits near the middle of the grounds, a little to the west, facing southeast. With a building area of 252 square metres it is the largest of the eleven registered buildings of the Sato Family Residence. The house was remodelled in 1927, and on its east side it joins, at ground-floor level, the Western-style annex completed in 1924.
Its construction is described in two ways. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database lists the structure as dozo-zukuri, the thick earthen-walled build of a Japanese storehouse, yet its explanatory text calls the Main House timber-framed, with walls plastered over the posts and partly finished in lime plaster so that the house takes on the heavy look of a storehouse.
Why It Was Registered
The registration criterion is that the building serves as a model of design. The Agency singles out its generous scale and calls it a refined Japanese house of high quality, built with carefully chosen timber. Its registration number is 03-0032.
The date matters. The Sato family is said to have founded the Yokoya brewery in 1912, so the Main House was already standing, built in the days of the sake business that occupied the site before them. The 1927 remodelling came under the Satos.
The operator, Senmaya Machizukuri Co., Ltd., passes on a tradition that an architect it names as 小原友輔, a pupil of Tokyo Station designer Tatsuno Kingo, had a hand in the Main House and the Western-style annex, and notes the work of Kesen carpenters, a guild of builders from coastal Iwate. The Agency's records name no designer, so treat the attribution as local lore.
What to Look For
Right of centre on the front, an entrance porch with a hipped roof pushes forward from the main body, which is gabled and covered in interlocking pantiles. The change of roof shape marks the way in.
According to the operator, the stepping stone at the entrance is a single slab of granite and the sliding door is cut from one broad board of zelkova. Iwate's official tourism site likewise describes the house as generously built in zelkova. Stand at the door and follow the grain: it runs unbroken from top to bottom.
Step back into the yard to take in the walls. Where lime plaster gives way to the broad rendered surfaces, you can see why the Sato Family Residence Main House is said to look like a storehouse.
Visiting
The Sato Family Residence Main House is the heart of the Senmaya Sake no Kura Exchange Facility, and its interior is open free of charge on opening days. Rooms are sometimes hired out for events, and a room in use may be closed to visitors. The operator's website does not state a photography policy, so follow any signs inside and, if unsure, ask Senmaya Machizukuri Co., Ltd. (tel. 0191-53-2070). Directions, opening days and hours are on the page for the Yokoya Sake Brewery and Sato Family Residence.
Q&A
- When was the Sato Family Residence Main House built?
- It was built in 1901 and remodelled in 1927. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on January 31, 2003.
- Can you go inside the Sato Family Residence Main House?
- Yes. The interior is open free of charge on opening days of the Senmaya Sake no Kura Exchange Facility, though rooms hired out for events may be closed.
- Is the Sato Family Residence Main House a storehouse-style building?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs lists it as dozo-zukuri, but its explanatory text describes a timber-framed house whose rendered walls give it the look of a storehouse.
- Who designed the Sato Family Residence Main House?
- The operator reports a tradition that an architect named 小原友輔, a pupil of Tatsuno Kingo, was involved. The Agency's records do not name a designer.
- What should I look for at the Sato Family Residence Main House entrance?
- The hipped-roof porch, a granite stepping stone cut from a single slab, and a sliding door made from one board of zelkova.
Basic Information
| Name | Sato Family Residence Main House (佐藤家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 134 Kitakata, Senmaya, Senmaya-cho, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2003/1/31 (Heisei 15) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys (timber-framed, 2 storeys in the explanatory text), tiled roof, building area 252 square metres |
| Owner | Ichinoseki City |
| Public Access | Interior open free of charge on opening days (restricted while rooms are hired for events) |
References
- Sato Family Residence Main House, Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003021
- Senmaya Sake no Kura Exchange Facility (Senmaya Machizukuri Co., Ltd.)
- https://sakenokura.com/wp/kura/
- Senmaya Sake no Kura Exchange Facility (Iwate Prefecture official tourism site)
- https://iwatetabi.jp/spots/5535/
Last verified: 2026.09.26
