A Showa Reception Wing With a Western Annex
Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki (鳥取家住宅新座敷, Tottori-ke Jūtaku Shin-zashiki) is an early-Showa reception wing in Toyonaka-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 14 October 2021.
A Zashiki is a formal room for receiving guests, and this whole building was made for that purpose. It stands two storeys high across the courtyard south of the Main House, with an eight-mat room projecting to the north and a small Western-style block attached on the west. The roof is tiled, partly clad in copper, and the building covers 128 square metres. The stone wall in front is included in the registration. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Showa period, between 1926 and 1945, with later alterations including work in 1996.
It was built by Fujio, eldest son of the founder Jūzaburō and himself a village mayor. The owner's website says that after a Taisho-era fire destroyed the southern side of the compound, Fujio took his time creating this wing and the courtyard. It hosted meetings and important visitors, and a family story holds that before building two storeys, something the main household did not have, Fujio first asked the main family's permission.
Why It Was Registered: Quality Down to the Details
The Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki was registered as a model of good design. The official description calls it a modern Japanese house with a Western annex whose detailing is fine throughout.
On the ground floor the connected reception rooms are enclosed by nekoma shoji: paper screens, four to every six shaku (about 1.8 metres) of wall, each with a small inner panel that slides up so you can look out without opening the screen.
The Western annex has a parapet trimmed with an egg-and-dart band, the classical ornament of alternating ovals and arrowheads, and arched windows. The windows are fitted with sliding glass panels rather than hinged sashes, a Western face with Japanese hardware.
The owner's website points out how the tall upper floor was kept from looking bare: glazed transoms, Osa-ranma openwork panels and Kote-e plaster relief in a shippo pattern of linked circles. It also highlights the coffered (Gō-tenjō) ceiling over the stair landing and corridor handrails topped with jewel-shaped finials, their pattern changing from one passage to the next.
What to Look For
From the south, the contrast is clear between the two-storey Japanese body and the Western block on its west end, where the egg-and-dart parapet reads as a fine ridged band along the roofline.
The owner calls one corner of the upper floor the viewing room, with good views, winter sun and summer breezes. Walk the corridors slowly and compare the handrails; no two runs are quite alike.
In the reception rooms, raise the small panels in the nekoma shoji and the courtyard garden appears framed in glass, much as it did for the Showa-era guests this building was made for.
Staying and Visiting
Since 2016 the Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki has operated as a guesthouse called Kachoen, according to KSB. It is let to one party per night and has five tatami rooms, a kitchen, a dining room and a lounge. Staying is the way to see the interior; the owner's website offers no day visits.
Guests can also use the wood-fired bath in the Bathhouse, built at the same time. No photography rules are posted. Directions to the compound are on the Tottori Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Can I stay at the Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki?
- Yes. It operates as the Kachoen guesthouse, let to one party per night. Booking details are on the owner's website.
- When and by whom was the Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Showa period, between 1926 and 1945. It was built by Fujio, the founder's eldest son, after a fire in the Taisho era.
- What is special about the Western annex of the Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki?
- Its parapet is trimmed with an egg-and-dart band, and its arched windows hold sliding glass panels, a Western exterior with Japanese-style openings.
- Can I see the Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki without staying?
- The owner's website lists no day visits. Contact the owner in advance if you would like to see it.
- Why was the Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki registered?
- As a model of good design: a modern Japanese house with a Western annex, finely detailed throughout.
Basic Information
| Name | Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki |
|---|---|
| Location | 1764 Kasada Kasaoka Goemon, Toyonaka-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 37-0451 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/10/14 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof partly clad in copper, building area 128 square metres, with stone wall |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Operates as the Kachoen guesthouse; interior for overnight guests only (one party per night) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Tottori Family Residence New Zashiki
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014096
- 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/
- KSB Setonaikai Broadcasting news report on the registration of the Tottori residence (2021, Japanese)
- https://news.ksb.co.jp/article/14444187
Last verified: 2026.09.26
