Ryotei Nicho Main House

The Main House of Ryotei Nicho

The Ryotei Nicho Main House (料亭二蝶主屋) is the main house of a traditional ryotei restaurant of 1950 in Hyakken-machi, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 2, 2006 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is also written Ryōtei Nichō.

The Agency records a timber building of two storeys, partly single-storey, with a tiled roof and a building area of 173 square metres; registration number 37-0287.

An L-Shaped House Built Around the Entrance

The Ryotei Nicho Main House stands in the northeast part of a site that faces the street to the north (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its plan is an L: a single-storey wing runs west from the two-storey block.

That wing carries a hip-and-gable roof in the Irimoya-zukuri manner, laid with interlocking pan tiles, with its ridge running east to west. It holds the entrance and the cashier's office, so the rooms that receive guests and settle their bills sit on the street side.

The Agency notes that the entrance is finished inside and out in the sukiya taste of the tea house. This is where the Ryotei Nicho Main House shows its character most clearly.

Why It Was Registered

The Ryotei Nicho Main House was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Agency singles out the entrance, whose sukiya detailing gives the front the bearing expected of a ryotei.

According to the Agency, the site lies southeast of Takamatsu Castle, on the street one block south of the main shopping district. Built in 1950, the house shows how a ryotei of the postwar years presented itself to a city street.

What to Look For

At the Ryotei Nicho Main House, look first at the single-storey wing with its hip-and-gable roof. It sits lower than the two-storey block, so the entrance can be picked out from outside.

Once inside, notice the sukiya-style finishes of the entrance; the cashier's office is in the same wing (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

The Ryotei Nicho Main House is part of a working restaurant, and only guests with a reservation go beyond the entrance. No official information was found on visits for viewing only. Opening days, reservations and directions are covered on the Ryotei Nicho group page.