Shimanouchi Katsuyuki Family Residence Water-Drawing Pond

What the Shimanouchi Katsuyuki Family Residence Water-Drawing Pond Is

The Shimanouchi Katsuyuki Family Residence Water-Drawing Pond (島内克之家住宅汲池, kumichi) is a small stone-lined pond of 1911 in Kamioka, Noichi-cho, Konan City, Kochi Prefecture, fed from the channel outside the estate, and was listed as Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 June 2002.

Built of natural stone, it is about 1.5 metres square, with an area of 2.3 square metres. It is the smallest of the estate's seven registered structures and, like the walls, is listed as a structure rather than a building.

It lies northeast of the Nagayamon gatehouse, on the west side of the northern end of a wall that runs north from the gate's northeast corner. In other words, a few steps inside the front gate, in a corner of the work yard.

Why It Was Listed

The Water-Drawing Pond was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a valuable record of how water was used in this district. What matters here is less the pond itself than the way water reaches it.

The source is the channel running along the southern edge of the property. Water taken from it is led north along the east face of the gatehouse, passed beneath the earthen wall and delivered into the pond. The stream outside the estate is brought inside without breaking the line of gate and wall.

The name says what it was for: kumichi, a pond for drawing water. The channel that loops round the west and south of the Shimanouchi homestead shapes the view of the storehouse and barn, fixes the position of the gatehouse, and feeds this pond. No other structure on the site shows so directly that the estate was laid out around its water.

What to Look For

Think in terms of a route. Southern channel, east face of the gatehouse, under the wall, into the pond: within a few metres the water crosses the formal front of the estate and arrives inside. When looking at the Shimanouchi Katsuyuki Family Residence Water-Drawing Pond, trace that path rather than the basin alone.

Look at the stonework. The basin is made of natural stones rather than cut blocks, enclosing a pool about 1.5 metres across. Set beside the natural-stone base of the outer wall, it shows a consistent preference for unworked stone throughout the property.

Consider the scale, too. A pond of 2.3 square metres holds its own place on the national register alongside the main house and the gate, which makes clear that the whole working homestead, down to its smallest fittings, is what was judged worth keeping.

Visiting

The Shimanouchi Katsuyuki Family Residence Water-Drawing Pond is inside a private homestead and cannot be visited. Neither the Konan City nor the Kochi Prefecture cultural property lists mention any public access (checked 26 September 2026).

Tucked behind the gatehouse in the shadow of a wall, it should be assumed invisible from outside the property. The photographs in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database are the reliable way to see it.

The intake and water course are part of the estate as well. Even if anything is visible from outside, do not touch it or step into the channel.