About the Former Miura Family Residence Annex
The Former Miura Family Residence Annex (旧三浦家住宅離れ, Kyū Miura-ke Jūtaku Hanare) is a one-story timber annex of the early Showa era (1926 to 1945) in Aokicho, Susaki City, Kochi Prefecture, entered on the register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 25, 2016. It stands at the back of the property to the north and is linked to the main house by a corridor. Of the six registered structures, it is the most recent.
The hipped roof (Yosemune-zukuri) runs east to west and is covered in sangawara pantiles, with lean-to eaves (Geya) wrapping the south and west sides. The building area is 66 square meters; the Susaki Machikado Gallery gives the plan as 5 ken by 3.5 ken, or 9.91 by 6.925 meters.
Why It Was Registered
The Miura Annex was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs acknowledges that the interior has been altered for its present use, but says the building still shows how the large residence of a businessman was arranged in the modern era.
A shop on the street, the main house behind it, the annex farther back: the deeper you go into the property, the more private the buildings become. Built decades after the mid-Meiji shop, the Former Miura Family Residence Annex shows the compound still growing toward the back well into the Showa era.
What to Look For
A Japanese house with a Western roof frame
Seen from outside, the Former Miura Family Residence Annex is a tiled single-story house in the Japanese manner. The frame that holds up the roof, however, is a Western King post truss: a central vertical post and diagonal members locked into a triangle. Trusses of this kind came to Japan from the West after the Meiji Restoration and can span a wide room without intermediate posts.
A kitchen without posts
According to the gallery, the annex consists of a tatami room, a veranda and a kitchen. Over the kitchen, king post trusses are set at intervals of one ken, about 1.8 meters, creating an open space free of posts.
A straight-grained ceiling
The tatami room, by contrast, has a Saobuchi-tenjō ceiling of thin boards laid over slender battens, the boards cut with straight, even grain. Western engineering for the width of the kitchen, a traditional ceiling for the formality of the tatami room: the Miura Annex uses both under one roof.
Visiting
The interior of the Former Miura Family Residence Annex has been altered for its present use. Whether you can enter while the Susaki Machikado Gallery is open depends on how the building is being used, so ask at reception (checked September 27, 2026).
The Miura Annex stands at the back of the property, behind the shop and main house. It is joined to the main house by a corridor, but a photo caption on the gallery's site describes the covered walkway on the north side of the main house as added after the renovation. We could not confirm from published material how that walkway relates to the corridor recorded at registration. Ask at reception about photography. Opening hours and directions are on the Former Miura Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Former Miura Family Residence Annex built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Showa era, 1926 to 1945. It is the newest of the six registered structures.
- What is the king post truss in the Former Miura Family Residence Annex?
- A Western-style roof frame in which a central vertical post and diagonal members form a triangle. In the annex kitchen the trusses are set every ken to create a space without posts.
- What rooms are in the Former Miura Family Residence Annex?
- According to the gallery, a tatami room, a veranda and a kitchen. The tatami room has a batten ceiling of straight-grained boards.
- Can I go inside the Former Miura Family Residence Annex?
- The interior has been altered for current use, and access depends on how the gallery is using it. Ask at reception during opening hours.
- Where is the Former Miura Family Residence Annex on the property?
- At the back of the lot to the north, linked to the main house by a corridor.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Miura Family Residence Annex (旧三浦家住宅離れ) |
|---|---|
| Location | 7-1 Aokicho, Susaki City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 39-0287 |
| Year Designated | Registered February 25, 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | One-story timber, tile roof, building area 66 square meters |
| Owner | Susaki City |
| Public Access | Depends on current use (Susaki Machikado Gallery) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Miura Family Residence Annex (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011007
- Former Miura House (Susaki Machikado Gallery, in Japanese)
- https://machikado-gallery.com/miuratei/
Last verified: 2026.09.27
