A Reception Wing Registered as the Main House
The Kura no Yakata Sankakutei (Former Sakai Family Residence) Main House (倉の館三角邸（旧堺家住宅）主屋) is a Japanese-style reception building of the early Showa era in Utazu Town, Ayauta District, Kagawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 2, 2007 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a timber building of two storeys, partly single-storey, roofed in tile, with a building area of 157 square metres; registration number 37-0313.
Although it is registered as the main house, the Agency explains that it was the reception wing of a fertilizer merchant, and Utazu Town calls it a separate wing of the Sakai family. It was built to receive guests rather than as the family's everyday home.
A Plan in Three Parts
The Kura no Yakata Sankakutei Main House is centred on a two-storey east-west block with a hip-and-gable roof, set toward the south of the plot (Agency for Cultural Affairs). An entrance porch with its own hip-and-gable roof, covered in copper sheet, projects to the east, and a single-storey north-south wing of formal rooms joins it on the north.
That wing holds a 12-mat reception room and a 10-mat anteroom, wrapped by tiled pent eaves (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The formal rooms sit in their own low wing, separate from the two-storey block and the porch.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency praises the careful workmanship inside and out, which conveys the reception space of a prosperous merchant, and registered the building as a model of design. Utazu Town describes it as a lavishly built example of modern Japanese-style architecture from the early Showa era that draws on the shoin manner of formal rooms.
What to Look For
The entrance porch of the Kura no Yakata Sankakutei Main House faces the east gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs), so the copper-roofed porch is the first thing framed by the gateway.
From outside, compare the hip-and-gable roof of the two-storey block with the lower roofline of the formal wing running north, edged by its tiled pent eaves.
Visiting
Utazu Town's official pages say nothing about interior visits to the Kura no Yakata Sankakutei Main House. To ask about seeing the formal rooms or taking photographs, contact the Utazu Town Board of Education (tel. 0877-49-8007).
Q&A
- What kind of building is the Kura no Yakata Sankakutei Main House?
- The former reception wing of a fertilizer merchant: a two-storey hip-and-gable block with a copper-roofed porch and a single-storey wing of formal rooms (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How large are the formal rooms of the Kura no Yakata Sankakutei Main House?
- There is a 12-mat reception room and a 10-mat anteroom (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Can I go inside the Kura no Yakata Sankakutei Main House?
- The town's official pages do not give conditions for interior visits, so contact the Utazu Town Board of Education (tel. 0877-49-8007).
- Who owned the Kura no Yakata Sankakutei Main House?
- According to Utazu Town, it was a separate wing of the Sakai family, fertilizer merchants. The town bought and restored it in 1996.
- When was the Kura no Yakata Sankakutei (Former Sakai Family Residence) Main House registered?
- On October 2, 2007 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Kura no Yakata Sankakutei (Former Sakai Family Residence) Main House (倉の館三角邸（旧堺家住宅）主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2147-3 Utazucho, Ayauta-gun, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered October 2, 2007 (Heisei 19) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, two storeys, partly single-storey, tile roof, building area 157 m² |
| Owner | Utazu Town |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from outside the grounds; ask the Utazu Town Board of Education about the interior |
References
- Kura no Yakata Sankakutei (Former Sakai Family Residence) Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00006456
- Kura no Yakata Sankakutei (Former Sakai Family Residence) Main House (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/197449
- Kura no Yakata Sankakutei (Utazu Sanpomichi, Utazu Town official visitor site, Japanese)
- https://sanpomichi.town.utazu.lg.jp/spot/entry/old/007491/
Last verified: 2026.11.03
