What the Morisawa Family Residence Toilet and Bath Is
The Morisawa Family Residence Toilet and Bath (森澤家住宅便所及び風呂, Morisawa-ke jūtaku benjo oyobi furo) is a pair of small single-storey timber outbuildings of the middle Meiji period in Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture, registered together as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005. They stand side by side on the boundary west of the main house, their ridges running north to south.
The toilet and the bathhouse each measure 2 by 1 bays. The toilet to the south has a plain gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof; the bathhouse to the north finishes its southern end in the hip-and-gable Irimoya-zukuri form. Both are roofed in pantiles.
The toilet holds three stalls. The bath has a tiled tub, and a small room with a stoking hole is attached at the southeast corner.
Why It Was Registered
The Morisawa Family Residence Toilet and Bath was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, on the same day as the main house and gate, as part of the estate's water and sanitation.
Toilets and baths are the parts of a house most often rebuilt. As fittings age they are the first to be modernised, and few survive in their Meiji form. Here the two small buildings have kept their place outside the main house, and that arrangement was registered.
Three stalls say something about the size of the household. It suggests a compound busy with family, servants and visitors. The Nomura Family Residence, the house in Doi open to the public, also has a separate toilet and bath building; putting sanitation outside the main house was common practice among the residences of Doi.
What to Look For
Look at the two roofs. The toilet has a straightforward gable, while the bathhouse turns only its southern end into a hip-and-gable. Two sheds of the same size stand side by side, and the shape of their roof ends tells them apart.
Then the stoking room. Bath water was usually heated by a fire fed from outside the bathroom, and here a small room at the southeast corner holds the stoking hole. Keeping the fire separate meant that whoever tended it never had to step into the bath.
The registry does not say when the tub was tiled. The buildings are dated to the middle Meiji period, but bathrooms are altered in use, and the tiling may well be later.
Visiting
The Morisawa Family Residence Toilet and Bath stands west of the main house toward the inside of the plot and can hardly be seen from outside. No opening has been announced (checked 25 September 2026). Please do not enter the grounds.
One caution about the records: each building is given as 2 by 1 bays, yet the building area is recorded as 5.5 square metres, which does not add up for two such buildings. One of the entries may be in error. Directions to the estate are on the Morisawa Family Residence page.
Q&A
- What is the Morisawa Family Residence Toilet and Bath?
- Two small buildings side by side west of the main house: a toilet with three stalls to the south and a bathhouse with a tiled tub to the north.
- How do the roofs of the Morisawa Family Residence Toilet and Bath differ?
- The toilet has a gabled roof; the bathhouse finishes its southern end as a hip-and-gable. Both are pantiled.
- Where was the bath at the Morisawa Family Residence heated?
- From a small stoking room attached at the southeast corner of the bathhouse.
- How large is the Morisawa Family Residence Toilet and Bath?
- Each building is recorded as 2 by 1 bays. The registry gives a building area of 5.5 square metres, which does not tally with two buildings of that size.
- Can you visit the Morisawa Family Residence Toilet and Bath?
- No opening has been announced, and it stands toward the inside of the plot where it is almost invisible from outside.
Basic Information
| Name | Morisawa Family Residence Toilet and Bath (森澤家住宅便所及び風呂) |
|---|---|
| Location | 559 Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 39-0203 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 5.5 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 Toilet and Bath
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005049
- Kochi Prefecture: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.pref.kochi.lg.jp/doc/2023062200186/
- Aki City: Doi Kachu Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.aki.kochi.jp/life/dtl.php?hdnKey=1381
Last verified: 2026.09.25
