A Rural Samurai House in Maejima
Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House (岩村家住宅（旧黒岩家住宅）主屋, Iwamura-ke Jūtaku Omoya) is a late Edo-period house built for a family of goshi, or rural samurai, in the Maejima neighborhood of Kawakita, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 15, 2024.
Maejima is a small settlement ringed by an irrigation channel, and the house sits near its center with its long east-west roof ridge turned to face south. It is a single-storey timber building with a partial Tsushi-nikai loft, a Sangawara-buki tiled roof and a building area of 101 square meters. The national database dates it to the end of the Edo period, before 1868, and also records work around 1890 and a renovation in 1975.
The Kuroiwa name in parentheses preserves the family who once lived here. Three other parts of the Iwamura Family Residence were registered on the same day: the storehouse, the gate with its palanquin room, and a tiled earthen wall. The main house stands at the center of them all.
Why It Was Registered
The listing cites the building's contribution to Japan's historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out how well it keeps the look and feel of a goshi dwelling from the close of the early modern era.
Goshi held samurai rank but lived out in the villages, often working their own land, rather than in the castle town. Their houses had two jobs: running a farming household day to day, and receiving guests in a manner that matched the family's status.
You can read both jobs in the floor plan of the Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House. A lean-to extension, or Geya, runs along the south front, with the entrance at its center. East of the four-mat entry room lies a six-mat Zashiki reception room with a decorative alcove on its east side; to the west is a four-and-a-half-mat room fitted with built-in cupboards. The rear row holds, from east to west, a six-mat room, the family living room and the kitchen.
Guests in front, family behind: two neat rows that keep the public and private halves of the house apart.
What to Look For
Start with the south front. The lean-to steps down a level below the main roof, and the entrance opens in its middle. On either side runs an uchien, an inner veranda tucked inside the sliding shutters, which forms a narrow passage in front of the reception rooms.
The roof is the other thing to read. Only part of the single storey carries the low loft, so the ridge never climbs very high, and the Iwamura Family Residence main house sits comfortably among its neighbors rather than towering over them.
The alcove at the east end of the reception room is the clearest sign that this was a house built to receive visitors. If you cannot see it in person, the national database includes an interior photograph of the alcove area.
Then step back and take in the whole compound. The gate and palanquin room face the street to the south, the tiled earthen wall runs north and south from the east end of the house, and the storehouse stands behind it to the north. Walking in from the street, you can follow the plan of a goshi homestead arranged around its main house.
Visiting the Main House
The Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House is a private home. As of September 2026, neither Aki City nor the Agency for Cultural Affairs lists any public opening or visitor program for the interior. Please stay off the property and view it from the public road.
Because the house stands inside the gate near the middle of the plot, expect only a partial view of its front from the street. Photograph the exterior from the road only, and take care not to capture the residents or their daily life.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House
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Q&A
- When was the Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House built?
- The national database dates it to the end of the Edo period and records work around 1890 and a renovation in 1975. It was registered on August 15, 2024.
- Why is the Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it preserves the character of a late Edo-period goshi (rural samurai) house.
- What is the floor plan of the Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House?
- The entrance sits in the middle of the south lean-to. A six-mat reception room with an alcove lies to the east of the four-mat entry room and a four-and-a-half-mat room with cupboards to the west. The rear row holds a six-mat room, the living room and the kitchen.
- Can I go inside the Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House?
- No. It is a private home, and as of September 2026 no public opening has been announced. You can view the exterior from the public road.
- Can I see the Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House from the street?
- Only partly. It stands inside the gate near the middle of the plot, so from the southern street you glimpse part of its front. The national database has an interior photograph of the alcove.
Basic Information
| Name | Iwamura Family Residence (Former Kuroiwa Family Residence) Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 284 Kawakita Maejima-ko, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2024/8/15 (Reiwa 6) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single storey with a partial 2nd floor, tiled roof, building area 101 square meters |
| Owner | Not disclosed (no owner listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private home; exterior visible from the road) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Properties Database: 岩村家住宅（旧黒岩家住宅）主屋
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00015095
- Aki City Ordinances: Cultural Properties in Aki City (安芸市における文化財)
- https://www.city.aki.kochi.jp/reiki/reiki_honbun/o304RG00000266.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
