The Tomii Family Residence Main House
The Tomii Family Residence Main House (富井家住宅主屋) is the main house of a samurai residence of 1828 in Kachu, Tadotsu-cho, Kagawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 18, 2006 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof, 113 square metres in building area, dated 1828; registration number 37-0309.
It is the central building of the four that make up the Tomii Family Residence, standing in the middle of the plot and facing south. Tadotsu Town describes the residence as the samurai house that survives in Kachu from the Tadotsu domain's jinya.
How It Is Built
The house measures 6 and a half by 4 and a half ken (bays) and is a single-storey timber building with a gabled roof of hongawara, the heavy round-and-flat tile. Lean-to roofs wrap all four sides, and the wall above them is finished in lime plaster (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Under the eaves the rafters are plastered over in a wavy line, the detail that most defines the exterior. At 113 square metres it is by far the largest of the four buildings.
Why It Was Registered
It was registered as contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency values the Tomii Family Residence Main House because it has seen no major alteration and still shows the plan type and outward look of a middle-ranking samurai's house of its time.
It went up in 1828, three years after the Tadotsu domain opened its jinya in Kachu in 1825 (Tadotsu Town). With most of the domain buildings lost after the Meiji era, it is a concrete record of how a retainer lived.
What to Look For
Look first at the eaves. Instead of leaving the rafters exposed, the builders plastered over them in a wavy profile, so the line of rafters reads as a gentle ripple in the white soffit. It is painstaking work for a single-storey house.
The building reads in two tiers. The Geya lean-to roofs that run round all four sides form a low skirt of eaves; above them rises the plastered upper wall, capped by the gabled hongawara roof. For a single-storey house it has real weight.
The Main House faces south. The registered Gate stands in front of its entrance, and the New Reception Room joins it to the southwest by a covered corridor, so the Tomii Family Residence Main House is the hinge of the whole compound.
Visiting
The Tomii Family Residence Main House is a private home, and as of October 2026 there is no official information on interior visits. Because it stands in the middle of the plot behind the Gate, from the street you will probably see little more than its roof and upper walls over the gate (a judgement from the layout, not checked on site).
Photographs of the Main House, including its eaves, appear on the Agency for Cultural Affairs database. On site, please stay on the street and do not enter the property.
Q&A
- Where is the Tomii Family Residence Main House?
- At 8-6 Kachu, Tadotsu-cho, Kagawa Prefecture, in the district where the Tadotsu domain had its jinya. It stands in the middle of the plot, facing south.
- Can you go inside the Tomii Family Residence Main House?
- It is a private home, and as of October 2026 no interior visits are announced. You can view the exterior from the street without entering.
- What kind of building is the Tomii Family Residence Main House?
- A single-storey timber house of 1828, 6 and a half by 4 and a half ken in plan, with a gabled hongawara roof, lean-to roofs on all four sides, plastered upper walls and rafters plastered over in a wavy line under the eaves (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Why was the Tomii Family Residence Main House registered?
- Because it is largely unaltered and keeps the form and appearance of a middle-ranking samurai's house of the Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- When was the Tomii Family Residence Main House registered?
- On October 18, 2006 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Tomii Family Residence Main House (富井家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 8-6 Kachu, Tadotsu-cho, Nakatado-gun, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2006/10/18 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 6 and a half ken by 4 and a half ken; building area 113 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner (per Tadotsu Town) |
| Public Access | Private home; no interior access announced |
References
- Tomii Family Residence Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005923
- List of cultural properties in Tadotsu (Tadotsu Town, Japanese)
- https://www.town.tadotsu.kagawa.jp/soshikikarasagasu/kyoikuiinkaijimukyokusyougaigakusyuka/shakaikyoiku/2/565.html
- Descriptions of cultural properties in Tadotsu (Tadotsu Town, Japanese)
- https://www.town.tadotsu.kagawa.jp/soshikikarasagasu/kyoikuiinkaijimukyokusyougaigakusyuka/shakaikyoiku/2/563.html
Last verified: 2026.10.20
