The Oldest Building of the Shinkōjiya Compound
The Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence Main House (新麹屋柏原家住宅主屋, Shinkōjiya Kashiwabara-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a townhouse built in 1883 facing south onto the old Satsuma Kaidō highway in Ogawa, Ogawa-machi, Uki City, Kumamoto Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 February 2016.
It is a timber building, single-storey with a partial second floor, under a tiled roof, with a building area of 197 square metres. It was enlarged in 1898 and renovated in 1967. Of the four registered structures on the property it is both the oldest and the largest.
Why It Was Registered: A House That Grew with the Business
The Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence Main House was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles it out as a clear record of a house extended step by step as the family business prospered.
You can see this in its two distinct parts. The eastern half is the original building: a through passage of beaten earth, the Doma, runs from the street to the back, with three rooms alongside it. Its posts and beams are heavy and thickly dimensioned.
The western part is the later reception wing of formal Zashiki rooms. It has its own entrance on the street front, and the carved Ranma transoms and the fittings of its alcoves, the Zashiki-kazari, are of a noticeably finer standard.
A working house for trade and family life came first; a wing for receiving guests was added later. The published records do not say whether the 1898 enlargement is that wing or some other part of the house, and we have not assumed it.
What to Look For: A Plastered Front and a Second Entrance
Under its Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable roof, the Shinkōjiya main house turns its gable end toward the highway, the arrangement called Tsumairi. The street front is thickly plastered in earth, which the Agency describes as an igura-zukuri exterior. In Kyushu the term is used for townhouses finished like a clay-walled storehouse on the street side.
Follow the front westward and you reach the gate and wall standing before the reception wing's entrance. A guest could pass through the gate straight to the formal rooms, while trade went in and out by the earthen passage further east.
Behind the reception wing, a covered corridor leads to the annex. If you are ever invited inside, compare the heavy framing of the eastern half with the transoms of the reception rooms; within a single house the two parts were built to very different ideas.
Viewing the Main House
The Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence Main House is lived in and is not open on a regular basis. Because it stands right on the old highway, the plastered front and the hip-and-gable roof can be seen from the street.
To see the formal rooms or transoms, contact the owners in advance and ask whether a visit is convenient. We found no official guidance on photography, so please put the residents' privacy first, including when photographing from the road.
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Q&A
- When was the Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence Main House built and registered?
- It was built in 1883, enlarged in 1898 and renovated in 1967. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 February 2016.
- Why is the Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence Main House a registered cultural property?
- It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Its original section and later reception wing show how the house was extended as the family business grew.
- What does "igura-zukuri" mean at the Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence Main House?
- It describes a townhouse whose street front is thickly plastered in earth, giving it the look of a clay-walled storehouse. Here the plastered gable end faces the old Satsuma Kaidō.
- How large is the Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence Main House?
- It is a timber building, single-storey with a partial second floor, with a tiled roof and a building area of 197 square metres, the largest of the four registered structures.
- Can I go inside the Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence Main House?
- Not without arrangement. It is a private home, so visitors must contact the owners in advance. The exterior can be seen from the street.
Basic Information
| Name | Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence Main House (新麹屋柏原家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 58 Kamikarigaya, Ogawa, Ogawa-machi, Uki City, Kumamoto Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016/2/25 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single-storey with partial 2nd floor, tiled roof, building area 197 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (interior by prior arrangement; exterior from the street) |
References
- 新麹屋柏原家住宅主屋 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011013
- 新麹屋柏原家住宅主屋 (Cultural Heritage Online)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/287903
- 新麹屋柏原家住宅門及び塀 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011015
- Shinkojiya Kashiwabara Family Residence: main house, annex, gate and wall, courtyard wall (Uki City)
- https://www.city.uki.kumamoto.jp/kankobunka/bunka/bunkazai/shitei/2264622
Last verified: 2026.09.28
