A Wax Merchant's House on the Uchiko Street
The Former Shimohaga Family Residence Main House (旧下芳我家住宅主屋, also written Kyu Shimohagake Jutaku Shuoku) stands at 1946 Uchiko in Uchiko Town, Kita District, Ehime Prefecture, dates from the middle Meiji era, and was entered on Japan's national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 31 July 2007.
The building faces north onto the shopping street that runs toward the Yōkaichi-Gokoku preservation district. Its frontage measures roughly nineteen metres, which in a row of townhouses is a considerable stretch of street to own. Two storeys of timber construction sit under a hipped-and-gabled irimoya roof of pantiles, with a single-storey annex extending on the south side and a covered passage linking the parts. Building area is 248 square metres.
Stand back far enough to take in the whole facade and the plasterwork resolves into two tones. White lime plaster and grey nezumi plaster have been laid out against each other in a deliberate pattern, not blended. On the roof, a chidori dormer gable carries a gegyo pendant carved as a crane.
The Haga Family and Japan Wax
Uchiko prospered on two products: Ōzu washi paper and mokurō, the vegetable wax pressed from the berries of the sumac tree. The wax trade made fortunes here in the nineteenth century, and the family at the centre of it took the surname Haga.
The main household, known conventionally as Honhaga, began wax production in the late Edo period and by the Meiji era was exporting under the Asahizuru trademark, with its white wax shown at international expositions in Paris, Chicago and St Louis. Thirteen branch households eventually split off. Their common names, Honhaga, Kamihaga, Shimohaga, Nakahaga, are conventional labels rather than distinct surnames; all of them were Haga. The crane of the Asahizuru mark recurs across the family's buildings, and the carved crane on this roof belongs to that visual habit.
Shimohaga was one of those branches. The scale of the house, its frontage, and the care taken over the street elevation all belong to a period when wax money was flowing through the town.
Registration as a Tangible Cultural Property came in the 55th registration round, under number 38-0074, with the gazette notice published on 13 August 2007. The criterion applied was the one covering buildings that contribute to the historic character of the national landscape. This system, introduced in 1996, sits apart from the older designation regime that produces Important Cultural Properties; it is lighter in its restrictions and is meant to keep buildings working. The nearby Honhaga and Kamihaga residences, by contrast, hold Important Cultural Property status, and the Yōkaichi-Gokoku district was selected in 1982 as a Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, the first such district in Shikoku.
Visiting: A Building You Can Sit Inside
Unlike the Honhaga residence, whose interior is closed and which can be viewed only from outside, this house is open in the most practical sense available: it operates as a soba restaurant, Shimohagatei, serving buckwheat noodles and dishes built around local Uchiko vegetables. A gallery within the building shows work by artists from the area. Reported hours run from around 11:00 to 15:00 with Wednesday closing, and the telephone number is 0893-44-6171, though hours at small restaurants change and confirming ahead is wise.
Eating a meal is therefore the ordinary way to see the interior. Sit down and the timber, the ceiling heights, and the proportions of the rooms become something experienced rather than observed from a rope line.
The retirement house that once belonged to the same household, the Former Shimohaga Family Residence Retirement House, stands immediately east at 1949 Uchiko and is separately registered under number 38-0075. The two buildings were assessed as forming a continuous frontage, so it is worth looking at them together from across the street.
Getting to Uchiko from Matsuyama takes about 25 minutes by limited express on the JR Yosan Line to Uchiko Station. From the station, the walk into the old commercial street is roughly a quarter of an hour, and the route continues on to the Yōkaichi-Gokoku district, so this house sits naturally at the start of a walking itinerary rather than at its end. Photography of the exterior from the public street is unrestricted; inside, ask the restaurant staff first, since other diners are present.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Former Shimohaga Family Residence Main House?
- Yes. The building houses the soba restaurant Shimohagatei, so the interior can be seen by dining there. Reported opening hours are roughly 11:00 to 15:00 with Wednesday closing; telephone 0893-44-6171 to confirm before travelling.
- When was the Former Shimohaga Family Residence Main House built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the building as dating from the middle Meiji era. It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 31 July 2007, with the gazette notice on 13 August 2007, under registration number 38-0074.
- Who were the Shimohaga family associated with the Former Shimohaga Family Residence Main House?
- They were one of thirteen branch households of the Haga family, the merchants who built Uchiko's fortune on mokurō Japan wax. The main household exported under the Asahizuru trademark and its white wax was shown at international expositions.
- What should you look at on the facade of the Former Shimohaga Family Residence Main House?
- The white lime and grey nezumi plaster are laid out in contrasting areas rather than mixed, and the roof carries a chidori dormer gable with a gegyo pendant carved in the form of a crane. The frontage runs about nineteen metres.
- How do you reach the Former Shimohaga Family Residence Main House?
- Take a limited express on the JR Yosan Line from Matsuyama to Uchiko Station, around 25 minutes, then walk about fifteen minutes into the old commercial street. The house lies on the route toward the Yōkaichi-Gokoku preservation district.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Shimohaga Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 1946 and adjacent, Uchiko, Uchiko Town, Kita District, Ehime Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 38-0074 |
| Year Designated | Registered 31 July 2007; gazette notice 13 August 2007 (55th registration round) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber construction, two storeys with single-storey section, tiled roof, building area 248 m², with covered passage |
| Owner | Not recorded in the national database |
| Public Access | Interior accessible as the Shimohagatei restaurant; exterior visible from the public street at any time |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Former Shimohaga Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006254
- Uchiko Town: Honhaga Family Residence, Important Cultural Property
- https://www.town.uchiko.ehime.jp/site/hozonsenta/honhagake.html
- Uchiko Town: Japan Wax Museum, Kamihaga Residence
- https://www.town.uchiko.ehime.jp/site/hozonsenta/kamihaga.html
- Uchiko Town Tourism: Shimohagatei
- https://www.we-love-uchiko.jp/gourmet/shimohagatei/
- Uchiko Town Tourism: Honhaga and Ōmura Family Residences
- https://www.we-love-uchiko.jp/spot_center/spot_c4/
Last verified: 2026.07.31