A Barn That Kept Its Original Tiles
Tottori Family Residence East Barn (鳥取家住宅東納屋, Tottori-ke Jūtaku Higashi-naya) is a barn built in 1894 in Toyonaka-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 14 October 2021.
It stands two storeys high southeast of the Main House, with a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) running north to south. The front faces west, and both the main roof and the lean-to over the entrance keep their original Hongawarabuki tiling. A single-storey henhouse is attached on the south. The walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster, and the building covers 95 square metres.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records an extension in the early Showa period and repairs in 1996. According to the owner's website it went up in 1894 together with the Rice Storehouse and was enlarged by Tottori Fujio around the time he built the New Zashiki.
Why It Was Registered: The Eastern Edge of the Compound
The Tottori Family Residence East Barn was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape; the official description credits it with shaping the view on the east side of the site.
The Rice Storehouse, built the same year, has since been reroofed in lighter tile, but the East Barn still carries its first roof of hongawara, the heavy system of alternating flat and rounded tiles. Keeping such a roof on a working barn suggests the family wanted even its farm buildings to look the part.
There are two entrances on the west side, one a sliding plank door, the other a plank door set with copper mesh in a tortoiseshell pattern. The two upper windows on the front are musō renji: double rows of vertical slats, one of which slides sideways to open or close the gaps.
What to Look For
Stand in front of the west face. The hongawara roof of the Tottori Family Residence East Barn looks heavier and more deeply shadowed than the tiled roofs around it, the rows of rounded tiles drawing strong vertical lines down the slope.
The copper-mesh door was probably meant to let air in while keeping small animals out. Together with the henhouse on the south end, it keeps the everyday life of a farming household in view.
Visiting
The East Barn belongs to a private home and its interior is not open. The owner's website gives no public visiting information, so contact the owner in advance. No photography rules are posted.
The layout of the compound and visiting conditions are covered on the Tottori Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Tottori Family Residence East Barn built?
- In 1894, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs. It was extended in the early Showa period and repaired in 1996.
- What is notable about the roof of the Tottori Family Residence East Barn?
- It keeps its original hongawara tiling, including the lean-to over the front entrance.
- Can visitors see the Tottori Family Residence East Barn?
- Its interior is not open. There is no public visiting information, so contact the owner in advance.
- What details should I look for on the Tottori Family Residence East Barn?
- The sliding-slat musō renji windows upstairs and the plank door fitted with tortoiseshell-pattern copper mesh.
- Why was the Tottori Family Residence East Barn registered?
- For shaping the view on the east side of the compound, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Tottori Family Residence East Barn |
|---|---|
| Location | 1764 Kasada Kasaoka Goemon, Toyonaka-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 37-0458 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/10/14 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 95 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private home; contact the owner in advance) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Tottori Family Residence East Barn
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014103
- Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in Kagawa
- https://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/kenkyoui/shogaigakushu/bunkazai/culturalassets/culturalassets_16.html
- Guesthouse Kachoen, official site of the owner
- https://www.kachoen.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.26
