A Traditional Amami House of the Hikimon Type
The Sono Family Residence Main House (薗家住宅主屋) is a single-storey timber main house of the Meiji period at Yoan, Kasari-cho, Amami City, Kagoshima Prefecture, which in 2007 was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a sheet-metal roof and a building area of 85 square metres, moved and altered around 1943 and 1950, and registered as a model of design.
The Agency notes that it preserves the traditional Amami house plan well.
Structure
According to the Agency, the house stands on a hillside plot, at the western back of the garden, in the divided form typical of Amami: a main building, the omote, and a separate kitchen building, the toogura.
The omote has a hipped sheet-metal roof, an eight-mat main room with alcove and shelves, a sleeping room and a back room, and a formal entrance. It is framed with horizontal members called hikimon.
What to Look For
The Amami tourism federation explains that from the late Edo period, a house-building technique assembling frames with wedges and no nails, akin to modern prefabrication, was established and spread across the Amami islands as the hikimon structure.
The division into omote and toogura and the hikimon frame show the traditional Amami house.
Visiting the Sono Family Residence Main House
No official information on visiting conditions could be found. Do not enter the grounds without permission.
Enquiries go to the Amami City board of education.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kagoshima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Sono Family Residence Main House
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Q&A
- When was the Sono Family Residence Main House built?
- In the Meiji period; it was moved and altered around 1943 and 1950.
- What is special about the house?
- It keeps the divided Amami form of a main building and a separate kitchen building.
- What is the hikimon structure?
- An Amami framing method using wedges instead of nails, widespread from the late Edo period.
- How is the main building arranged?
- An eight-mat main room with alcove and shelves, a sleeping room, a back room and an entrance.
- Where is the Sono Family Residence?
- At Yoan, Kasari-cho, Amami City, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Basic Information
| Name | Sono Family Residence Main House (薗家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 167-1 Takesaku, Yoan, Kasari-cho, Amami City, Kagoshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2007/12/5 (Heisei 19) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, sheet-metal roof, building area 85 square metres |
| Owner | Not recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | No official visitor information found |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Sono Family Residence Main House (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006742
- Cultural Heritage Online: Sono Family Residence Main House (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/153345
- Amami Oshima Tourism Federation: Amami Culture (Japanese)
- https://www.amami-tourism.org/about/culture/
Last verified: 2026.09.28