What the Morisawa Family Residence Well House Is
The Morisawa Family Residence Well House (森澤家住宅井戸屋, Morisawa-ke jūtaku idoya) is a middle Meiji-period shelter built over a well in Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005. It stands just north of the main house with its ridge running east to west.
It measures 3.6 metres by 2.9 metres, with a building area of 10 square metres. Four corner posts carry a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of pantiles. There are no walls; only the two gable ends are sheathed in boards against the rain.
Beneath the roof is a round well 1.1 metres across, its shaft lined with rounded stones laid up from the bottom. River stones are set in a ring around the well head.
Why It Was Registered
The Morisawa Family Residence Well House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, on the same day as the main house and gate, as one of the structures that handled the estate's water.
Wells survive at many old houses, but the shelter over the well is rarely kept, let alone registered as a building. At the Morisawa estate the well is separate from the stone basins along the water channel. In a household that assigned different water to different places, the well house is the water point closest to the main house.
The well itself deserves attention. Both the shaft of rounded stones and the ring of river stones around it use stone from the local riverbeds. Walls of river cobbles from the Aki River are counted among the hallmarks of Doi's streetscape, and here too the choice of stone reflects the materials of the place.
What to Look For
The well house is a building reduced to its minimum: four posts and a roof. That makes the roof easy to read. The boards across the two gables are the only enclosure, there to keep driven rain off the water, and the barn has the same treatment on its gable ends.
At ground level, the well mouth 1.1 metres across sits inside its ring of river stones, a paved surround that caught spilled water and gave firm footing. The rectangle of the roof and the circle of the well line up one above the other.
The position matters too. Standing right behind the main house, the well could be reached in a few steps from indoors.
Visiting
The Morisawa Family Residence Well House stands inside the grounds, just north of the main house, and is practically invisible from outside. No opening has been announced (checked 25 September 2026). Since it cannot be seen in person, the photographs in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database are the best way to see it.
Directions to the estate and guidance on viewing it are on the Morisawa Family Residence page.
Q&A
- What is the Morisawa Family Residence Well House?
- A shelter over a well: four corner posts carrying a gabled pantiled roof, with boards over the two gable ends.
- How big is the Morisawa Family Residence Well House?
- It measures 3.6 metres by 2.9 metres, with a building area of 10 square metres.
- How is the well at the Morisawa Family Residence Well House built?
- It is round, 1.1 metres across, lined with rounded stones laid from the bottom up and ringed at the top by river stones.
- Where is the Morisawa Family Residence Well House?
- Just north of the main house of the Morisawa Family Residence, with its ridge running east to west.
- Can you visit the Morisawa Family Residence Well House?
- No opening has been announced, and it stands inside the grounds where it cannot be seen from outside. Photographs are available in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
Basic Information
| Name | Morisawa Family Residence Well House (森澤家住宅井戸屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 559 Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 39-0202 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber structure, tiled roof, building area 10 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (inside the grounds) |
References
- Cultural Heritage Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Morisawa Family Residence Well House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005048
- Cultural Heritage Online: Morisawa Family Residence Well House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/140818
- Kochi Prefecture: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.pref.kochi.lg.jp/doc/2023062200186/
Last verified: 2026.09.25
