A Kitchen Building Behind the Main House
The Nishio Family Residence Kitchen (西尾家住宅台所, Nishio-ke Jūtaku Daidokoro) is an early Taisho-period cooking building at the Nishio Family Residence in Nahari, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 October 2000. It is a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a floor area of 35 square metres.
The Nishio Family Residence Kitchen stands south of the main house, on the east side of the courtyard, and carries registration number 39-0021. After the main house it is the largest of the six registered parts. The Agency for Cultural Affairs says it preserves the local form of a kamaya, the name used in this area for a separate building where the household cooked.
Why It Was Registered: The Local Kamaya Form
The building is 3 bays by 2 bays, its ridge running north to south, under a hip-and-gable Irimoya-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles. Lean-to eaves (Geya) wrap the west front and the south side, and their roof runs on into a Tsunoya wing extending south.
Inside, a raised seating area of about four and a half tatami mats and a board-floored section survive alongside an earthen-floored Doma and a well. Water, fire and a place to sit all fit within one small building.
The criterion for registration is that the building serves as a model of form. The Agency values exactly this combination of doma, well and raised floor as the regional kamaya type.
What to Look For: A Small Building With Many Roofs
For its size, the Nishio Family Residence Kitchen has a busy roofline: the main hip-and-gable roof, the lean-to eaves on two sides, and the wing continuing south.
Note which way it faces. Its front is on the west, toward the courtyard, where the toilet and barn stand opposite. Household life here turned inward, around that courtyard.
Visiting
The Nishio Family Residence Kitchen is part of a private home and is not open. It sits behind the main house on the inner side of the lot, so little of it can be seen from the old road.
The grounds are closed to visitors; the best you can do is view the main house and the outline of the property from the street.
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Q&A
- When was the Nishio Family Residence Kitchen built and registered?
- It dates to the early Taisho period and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 October 2000.
- What is a kamaya, as at the Nishio Family Residence Kitchen?
- It is the regional name for a separate cooking building. Here it combines an earthen floor and a well with tatami and board-floored seating.
- How big is the Nishio Family Residence Kitchen and what is its roof like?
- It is 3 bays by 2 bays with a floor area of 35 square metres, under a hip-and-gable roof of pantiles with lean-to eaves on the west and south.
- Where does the Nishio Family Residence Kitchen stand on the property?
- South of the main house, on the east side of the courtyard, facing the toilet and barn across it.
- Can I see the Nishio Family Residence Kitchen?
- The interior is not open, and because it stands inside the lot, very little is visible from the road.
Basic Information
| Name | Nishio Family Residence Kitchen (西尾家住宅台所) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1578 Otsu, Nahari-cho, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2000/10/18 (Heisei 12) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, tiled roof, building area 35 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (inside the lot, limited view from outside) |
References
- 西尾家住宅台所 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001971
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings), Kochi Prefecture
- https://www.pref.kochi.lg.jp/doc/2023062200186/
Last verified: 2026.09.29
