A Well with a Roof and a Door
The Sameshima Family Residence Well (鮫島家住宅井戸, Sameshima-ke Jūtaku Ido) is a late Meiji-period stone well on the Sameshima estate in Kaseda Fumoto, Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 July 2011. It lies at the far end of the street frontage and is registered on its own plot, 18274-1, rather than 18275 like the rest of the house.
It is small: 1.2 metres across the front, 1.1 metres deep, 1.3 square metres in all. Three sides are built up in cut tuff, slabs of stone are laid across the top as a single-pitched roof, and a pair of hinged wooden doors closes the front. The effect is of a well housed in its own miniature stone hut.
Water, Work and a Water God
Stone paving spreads from the front of the Sameshima Family Residence Well around to its north side, forming a washing area. The well was never just a place to draw water; it was a place to work with it. On the north side a water deity, Suijin, is enshrined.
Stone washing places along the irrigation channels are counted among the small pleasures of walking Kaseda Fumoto. This one shows the same arrangement inside a private estate, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs presents it as a record of daily life at the time. It was registered under the criterion of contribution to the historic landscape.
The tuff is the same kind of stone as the estate's long boundary wall, and even the roof is stone slab, a practical choice for a structure that is never dry.
What to Notice
Read the Sameshima Family Residence Well as a set: the stone lean-to roof, the paired doors, the paved washing floor in front and the shrine to the north. Everything to do with water in this household was gathered around these 1.3 square metres.
Visiting
The well is part of a private home and is not open to visitors (checked September 2026). Published sources do not make clear how much of it can be seen from the road, so please look only from public ground and do not step onto the property. Directions to the district are given on the Sameshima Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- What does the Sameshima Family Residence Well look like?
- It is a small stone well enclosed on three sides by cut tuff, roofed with a single-pitched layer of stone slabs and closed at the front by a pair of wooden doors. It measures 1.2 metres by 1.1 metres.
- What surrounds the Sameshima Family Residence Well?
- A stone-paved washing area runs from the front around to the north side, where a water deity is enshrined.
- Can the Sameshima Family Residence Well be visited?
- No. It is part of a private home and there are no openings (checked September 2026).
- Why does the Sameshima Family Residence Well have a different address from the main house?
- It stands on plot 18274-1, separate from plot 18275 where the other listings are, though all were registered on the same day as parts of one estate.
- When was the Sameshima Family Residence Well registered?
- On 25 July 2011. It is dated to the late Meiji period.
Basic Information
| Name | Sameshima Family Residence Well (鮫島家住宅井戸) |
|---|---|
| Location | 18274-1 Kaseda Takeda, Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration no. 46-0098 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2011/7/25 (Heisei 23) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Stone; area 1.3 square metres (1.2 metres by 1.1 metres) |
| Owner | Private individual (not published) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Sameshima Family Residence Well
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008796
- Japan Heritage Portal, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Sameshima (Kenji) Family Residence
- https://www.japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/culturalproperties/result/4679/
- Satsuma Samurai Towns Japan Heritage Council: Sameshima (Kenji) Family Residence
- https://kagoshima-fumoto.jp/minamisatsuma/%E9%AE%AB%E5%B3%B6%E5%81%A5%E5%BF%97%E5%AE%B6%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85/
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Minamisatsuma-shi Kaseda Fumoto
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/103/00000125
- Satsuma Samurai Towns Japan Heritage Council: Kaseda Fumoto
- https://kagoshima-fumoto.jp/minamisatsuma/
- Minamisatsuma Tourism Association: Kaseda Fumoto walking map (PDF)
- https://kanko-minamisatsuma.jp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/feature-kasedamachiaruki.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.25
