Where the Family Actually Lived
The Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing (丸岡家住宅居室棟) is the residential block of a merchant compound in Shimotakase, Mino-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture, built in 1935 and entered in Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 31 October 2022.
It is a two-storey timber building of 67 square metres, Irimoya-zukuri in form, roofed in Sangawara-buki pantiles, with Shinkabe walls that leave the posts exposed. Each floor holds two Japanese-style rooms.
The building attaches to the rear of the Western-style shop that meets the road at the northeast corner of the plot, and it doubled as the household's back entrance. The shop dates from the same year, 1935, but was registered separately in 1999 and is not one of the eight structures of the Maruoka Family Residence. The living wing is the domestic half of a single 1935 project.
A Deliberate Plainness
The Agency for Cultural Affairs description of the Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing returns twice to the same idea: this is a practical building, plainly finished. The timber chosen for the alcove framing and the joinery of the door frames and rails is carefully worked, and none of it is showy. The exterior follows suit.
That judgement reads more clearly against the rest of the compound. The front gate and entrance wing were registered as structures of exemplary design, and they carry the display work: a single zelkova board for the gate doors, a carved alcove post in the reception room. The Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. It was not built to be looked at.
Guests at the front, family at the back. The living wing belongs to the second category, and the care that went into it was spent on daily use rather than ornament. One household, one building season, two quite different briefs, and the register now preserves both.
What to Look At
The feature of the Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing that can be read from outside is the lattice set into the gable end. Thin members are arranged in a grid across the gable wall of the hip-and-gable roof, at once decorative and useful for ventilating the roof space. On an otherwise plain elevation, this is the one place where a pattern rises out of the surface.
Under the eaves, thin strips are laid across the Taruki rafters and left visible from below. It takes more work than boarding the soffit over. A building that declined to decorate its walls did not cut corners where the eye reaches.
The roof is pantiled. Only three of the eight structures at the Maruoka Family Residence use round-and-flat tiles, the main house, the entrance wing and the rear earthen wall; the living wing is among the five that do not. The flatter roof surface is part of why the gable lattice stands out as it does.
Inside, the plan is simple: two Japanese-style rooms on each floor. The alcove framing survives, so there was one formal corner even in the part of the compound given over to ordinary life.
Visiting
The Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing is closed to the public. It stands behind the Western-style shop, set back from the road, so there is no view of its front elevation from outside. What is visible is the pantiled roof and, from the right angle, the upper part of the gable.
To look for the gable lattice, stand back from the road on the side where the shop building is. The living wing is closer to the road than the main house, and in the right conditions the grid appears in the gap between the roofs.
This is a private home with no reception desk and no visitor parking, and photography is limited to what can be taken from the public road. The history of the compound and directions to it are covered on the Maruoka Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Can I go inside the Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing?
- No. It is a private home, closed to the public, and the grounds cannot be entered. From the road you may see the roof and part of the gable.
- When was the Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing built and registered?
- It was built in 1935 and registered on 31 October 2022 under number 37-0471.
- Is the Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing connected to the post office building next door?
- Yes. The Shimotakase Simplified Post Office occupies the former Maruoka kimono shop, and the living wing attaches to its rear. Both date from 1935, but the shop was registered separately in 1999 and is not one of the eight structures.
- What is the lattice on the gable of the Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing?
- A grid of thin members set into the gable wall. It is decorative and also ventilates the roof space, and it is one of the few details identifiable from outside.
- Which station is closest to the Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing?
- Mino Station on the JR Yosan Line, about 830 metres away, roughly 11 minutes on foot.
Basic Information
| Name | Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing |
|---|---|
| Location | 533-2 Otsui, Shimotakase, Mino-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 31 October 2022 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Wood, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 67 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Closed to the public. No interior access |
References
- Maruoka Family Residence Living Wing — National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014420
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties — Mitoyo City
- https://www.city.mitoyo.lg.jp/kakuka/kyouikuiinkai/shogai/3_1/history_bunnkazai/13938.html
- Local Houses Added to the National Register — Mitoyo City
- https://www.city.mitoyo.lg.jp/hotnews_old/reiwa4/202207hot/9908.html
Last verified: 2026.09.14
