Kura no Yakata Sankakutei (Former Sakai Family Residence)

Kura no Yakata Sankakutei

Kura no Yakata Sankakutei (Former Sakai Family Residence) (倉の館三角邸（旧堺家住宅）) in Utazu Town, Kagawa Prefecture, is a merchant's residence of the early Showa era whose main house, Western-style building, east gate and wall were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 2, 2007 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). All four belong to Utazu Town.

The Agency describes the main house as the former reception wing of a fertilizer merchant, a building that conveys how a wealthy trader received guests. Utazu Town explains that it was a separate wing built by the Sakai family, fertilizer dealers, and that the town bought and restored it in 1996. A Japanese-style building that draws on the shoin manner of formal rooms stands beside a small Western-style building fitted with stained glass.

The name Sankakutei means roughly "triangle house", and the steep pointed roof of the Western-style building on the north side of the plot is what most visitors notice first. The town presents Kura no Yakata Sankakutei as a landmark of Komachi, the old quarter of Utazu.

Layout and Registration

A wall encloses the east and north sides of the plot, and the east gate opens near the southern end of the east side (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The entrance porch of the main house faces the gate. The two-storey east-west block, with a hip-and-gable roof, stands toward the south of the plot, a single-storey wing of formal rooms runs north from it, and the Western-style building stands to the north.

The main house and the Western-style building were registered as models of design, and the gate and wall as contributions to the historic landscape (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Their registration numbers run in sequence from 37-0313 to 37-0316, and together they keep the full frontage of the Kura no Yakata Sankakutei estate. Each building is described on its own page.

Visiting

Utazu Town gives the walk from JR Utazu Station to Kura no Yakata Sankakutei as about 20 minutes. The town lists the address as 2148 Utazu, while the Agency's register gives 2147-3.

The wall and east gate can be seen from outside, and the pointed roof, which the town says makes the house stand out in the old quarter, is visible from the road. The town's official pages give no details on interior visits, opening hours or fees; enquiries go to the Utazu Town Board of Education (tel. 0877-49-8007).