Aizen Family Residence Annex

A Pavilion in the Courtyard

The Aizen Family Residence Annex (愛染家住宅離れ, Aizen-ke Jūtaku Hanare) is a single-storey wooden pavilion of about 1931 standing in the middle of the courtyard of the Aizen family townhouse in Higashihaze-chō, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 12 July 2005.

Inside is one room of four and a half tatami mats. The Aizen Family Residence Annex measures 2 bays by 1.5 bays, with a building area of just 11 square metres, and sits in the courtyard like an island, enclosed on three sides by the U-shaped main house.

Why It Was Registered: A Model of Sukiya Design

Three of the four registered buildings at the Aizen house were listed for their part in the historic streetscape. The Aizen Family Residence Annex alone was registered on a different criterion: as a model of good design.

The official description calls it a delicate piece of Sukiya-zukuri architecture with slender proportions. Sukiya building, which grew out of the tea-house tradition, pares posts, rafters and other members down to fine dimensions to give a sense of lightness. In a structure of 11 square metres that approach is concentrated almost to its essence.

What to Look For: Two Roof Ends, Railings and a Drum Bridge

The ridge of the Aizen Family Residence Annex runs north to south under a Sangawara-buki pantile roof. The two ends are finished differently: the north end is a plain gable in the Kirizuma-zukuri manner, while the south end is hipped, as in Yosemune-zukuri. One end is cut off square and the other slopes down, so the pavilion looks different depending on where you stand.

A veranda wraps the east, south and west sides behind a Kōran railing capped with Giboshi finials, the onion-shaped knobs associated with bridges and shrine buildings, here applied to a small domestic garden room.

From the centre of the south side an arched drum bridge crosses back to the main house. The route to the annex runs over that curved bridge, and the short crossing is built into the design.

Seeing the Annex

The Aizen Family Residence Annex stands in the courtyard of a private home and is not open to the public. Because the main house surrounds it, even its roof is hard to see from the street.

On site, visitors can see only the street front of the main house and the storehouse. Photographs of the Aizen Family Residence Annex are published in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database and on Cultural Heritage Online.