The Main House
The Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House (旧鯵坂家住宅主屋) is the dwelling at the centre of a house compound of the late Meiji period (1898–1912) in Kaseda Takeda, Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on June 21, 2013 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tile roof and a building area of 224 square metres; registration number 46-0106.
It stands in the middle of the plot, facing south. The Kagoshima Prefectural Board of Education dates the house to around 1902.
A Hip-and-Gable House of Linked Rooms
The Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House has a hip-and-gable roof of pantiles, with a lean-to roof running round all four sides (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The entrance sits toward the east end of the south front, and a rear reception room projects from the west end of the north side.
In the front reception room on the west, the Tokonoma alcove is flanked on both sides by Tokowaki side alcoves, a symmetrical arrangement the Agency singles out.
A Kanagawa University walking map notes that the six rooms, of 10, 8 and 10 mats along the south and 8, 6 and 8 mats along the north, open into one hall of about 50 mats, and that the earth-floored kitchen originally on the west side was pulled down in the late Showa period.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered the Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House for its contribution to the historic landscape, pointing to the red-painted interior walls and the delicately worked Ranma transoms as features that carry on the house type of Kaseda Fumoto.
The Kagoshima Prefectural Board of Education makes the same point: the vermilion walls and fine transoms follow the way samurai houses in Kaseda were built.
What to Look For
Start with the red walls of the reception rooms. The Kanagawa University map says the colour is reputed to come from Bengara pigment from Fukiya in Okayama.
Then look up at the transoms between the rooms, which the Agency describes as delicate; their carving changes from room to room.
According to the same map, the house once held sliding-door paintings by Hashiguchi Goyo (1881–1921), four sets on ten panels showing flowering trees, birds and flowers, and landscapes, now on deposit at the Kagoshima City Museum of Art rather than in the house.
Visiting
The Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House is closed until further notice while Minamisatsuma City carries out works to open it to the public, so the rooms and transoms cannot be seen for now.
The house stands in the middle of the plot, inside the stone wall and gate on the city road. Check with the Minamisatsuma City Board of Education which rooms will be open once it reopens.
Q&A
- When was the Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House built?
- The Agency dates it to the late Meiji period (1898–1912); the Kagoshima Prefectural Board of Education gives around 1902.
- What is special about the interior of the Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House?
- Red-painted walls in the reception rooms and finely carved transoms; the front room has side alcoves on both sides of its tokonoma (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How large is the Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House?
- It is a single-storey timber house with a building area of 224 square metres (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Can I go inside the Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House?
- Not at present: it is closed until further notice for works. Ask the Cultural Affairs Section of the Minamisatsuma City Board of Education about reopening.
- When was the Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House registered?
- On June 21, 2013 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House (旧鯵坂家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 17830-1 Shimo-Konosu, Kaseda Takeda, Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2013/06/21 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single-storey, tile roof, building area 224 m² |
| Owner | Minamisatsuma City |
| Public Access | Closed for works until further notice |
References
- Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009690
- Former Ajisaka Family Residence Main House (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/269916
- Former Ajisaka Family Residence (Japan Heritage Portal, Kagoshima Prefectural Board of Education, Japanese)
- https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/culturalproperties/result/4681/
- Notice on the works at the Former Ajisaka Family Residence (Minamisatsuma City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.minamisatsuma.lg.jp/living/oshirase/e044092.html
- Kaseda Fumoto walking map (Shimazaki Laboratory, Kanagawa University, Japanese)
- https://www.arch.kanagawa-u.ac.jp/lab/shimazaki_kazushi/shimazaki/Traditional%20buildings/120kasedafumoto/feature-kasedamachiaruki.pdf
Last verified: 2026.11.08
