A Retirement House Off the Main House
The Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex (山吉山本家住宅離れ屋, Yamayoshi Yamamoto-ke Jūtaku Hanareya) is a single-storey timber annex built in 1908 in Umaki, Shōdoshima-chō, Kagawa Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 9, 2005, under number 37-0254. It stands west of the main house on an east-west axis and is joined to it by a covered corridor.
The annex measures 14 metres by 6 metres, with a registered building area of 89 square metres. Its hip-and-gable (irimoya) roof is laid in hongawara tiles, and a lean-to Geya in Sangawara-buki pantiles runs around all four sides. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the tradition that this was an inkyoya, a retirement house: the home of the older generation once they had handed the running of the household and business to their heir.
A formal entrance with a Shikidai step opens near the east end of the south front. A toilet wing is attached on the north side, its floor laid with blue decorative tiles.
Why It Was Registered
Like the main house, the Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, as one element in the layout of a brewing family's estate.
Its interest lies in how it balances separation and connection. With its own formal entrance, callers could visit the retired head of the house without passing through the main house. The corridor, meanwhile, meant daily comings and goings stayed under a roof. A retired master could still receive guests in proper style while stepping back from the household's daily business, and the shikidai and the corridor are what make that arrangement physical.
The guardhouse, the annex and the storehouse all date from 1908. Building a gate, a retirement house and a tool store in the same year suggests that the domestic side of the estate was put in order in a single campaign.
What to Look For: An Inverted Roof and Blue Tiles
The tiling here is the reverse of the main house. There, pantiles cover the upper roof and hongawara the lean-to; on the annex, the heavy hongawara crowns the irimoya roof and the lighter pantiles finish the eaves. Heaviest at the top, lighter below, is the conventional order. Two neighbouring buildings on one property doing it opposite ways is one of the small puzzles of this site.
The other detail is the toilet floor. The official description goes out of its way to note the blue decorative tiles, which says something about how unusual such a finish was in a house of the late Meiji years. Colourful ceramics in a room guests would seldom see point to the care lavished on the retirement quarters, and to the means of the family who built them.
Visiting
The Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex stands inside the compound. We found no interior opening or visitor arrangement, so the tiled toilet and the rooms cannot currently be seen.
The neribei wall ends against the annex's northwest corner, but the building itself sits deep in the property, west of the main house, and is hard to make out from beyond the grounds. Do not enter the property, and keep photography to the public road.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex?
- We found no public opening, and the grounds are private. The annex stands deep inside the compound, so little of it is visible from outside.
- What was the Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex used for?
- By tradition it was a retirement house for the older generation. It connects to the main house by a corridor and has its own formal entrance for guests.
- When was the Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex built, and how large is it?
- It was built in 1908. It is a single-storey timber building measuring 14 metres by 6 metres, with a building area of 89 square metres.
- When was the Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex registered?
- On February 9, 2005, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, number 37-0254, on the same day as the main house, guardhouse, storehouse and wall.
- What is special about the toilet in the Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, its floor is laid with blue decorative tiles. The toilet wing is on the north side of the annex, and the storehouse is built against its north face.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex (山吉山本家住宅離れ屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | Ko 710, Imasaka, Umaki, Shōdoshima-chō, Shōzu District, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/2/9 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 14 metres by 6 metres; building area 89 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | No public opening announced; exterior from outside the grounds |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Detached Annex
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004662
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamayoshi Yamamoto Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004660
- Shōdoshima Town: Modern Industrial Heritage of Hishio no Sato (Japanese)
- https://www.town.shodoshima.lg.jp/gyousei/kakuka/shogaigakushuka/2/1/3151.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
