About the Ashida Family Residence Main House
The Ashida Family Residence Main House (蘆田家住宅主屋, Ashida-ke Jūtaku Omoya) is a two-storey thatched farmhouse of the late Edo period in Higashiashida, Aogakicho, Tanba City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2006 and extended in the early Showa period.
The house stands a little east of the center of its west-facing plot and looks west. It measures 7.5 by 5 bays (ken), with a building area of 179 m². The upper roof is a thatched hip-and-gable form, and a skirt of lower lean-to roofs finished in tile runs around it. Today the Ashida house is home to a café called genten.
Why the Ashida Family Residence Main House was registered
The Ashida Family Residence Main House was registered on the grounds that it contributes to the historic landscape of the nation. Its registration number, 28-0241, is the first of the five structures on the estate, and it also heads Tanba City's list of nationally registered cultural properties.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a large, two-storey thatched farmhouse built for sericulture. SATURDAY TAMBA, a local information site for Tanba City, describes it as a house that keeps the character of a silk-farming household and was also home to village headmen.
What to look for at the Ashida Family Residence Main House
Start with the roof. On the Ashida Family Residence Main House, a deep hip-and-gable crown of thatch sits above a continuous ring of tiled lean-to roofs, so the building reads as two stacked roof layers when you see it from the side.
Inside, the southern end is an earth-floored entrance, with seven tatami rooms on the ground floor and two upstairs. A study projects from the southeast corner, and the storage shed is attached beyond it. SATURDAY TAMBA notes that the café seats guests in the tatami rooms, at tables, and on a veranda that looks out over the garden.
The national database dates the Ashida Family Residence Main House to the late Edo period with an early Showa extension, but its notes do not say which part was added. Once you are seated, it is worth comparing the posts and beams for differences in age and finish.
Visiting the Ashida Family Residence Main House
Because the Ashida Family Residence Main House operates as the café genten, you can go inside as a customer during business hours. A 2024 article on SATURDAY TAMBA gives lunch hours of 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., closed on Wednesdays (checked on 1 October 2026). Hours can change, so confirm with the café before you travel.
If you want to photograph the tatami rooms or the earthen floor, ask the staff first and be mindful of other guests. The layering of thatch and tile is easiest to read from the west, the front of the house. Directions to the estate are on the Ashida Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- When was the Ashida Family Residence Main House built?
- It dates from the late Edo period and was extended in the early Showa period. The Ashida Family Residence Main House was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2006.
- Can you go inside the Ashida Family Residence Main House?
- Yes. It operates as the café genten, so customers can enter during business hours, listed as 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and closed on Wednesdays (checked on 1 October 2026).
- What kind of roof does the Ashida Family Residence Main House have?
- A thatched hip-and-gable roof, surrounded by lower lean-to roofs finished in tile.
- What is the floor plan of the Ashida Family Residence Main House?
- An earth-floored area at the south end, seven tatami rooms on the ground floor, two upstairs, and a study attached at the southeast corner.
- Why is the Ashida Family Residence Main House considered important?
- It is a large two-storey thatched farmhouse built for sericulture, and it was registered as contributing to the historic landscape of the nation.
Basic Information
| Name | Ashida Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 981 Higashiashida, Aogakicho, Tanba City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2006 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 179 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Interior open to café customers during business hours |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 蘆田家住宅主屋 (Ashida Family Residence Main House)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005331
- Tamba City: National Designated, Selected and Registered Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.tamba.lg.jp/soshiki/shakaikyoikubunkazaika/gyomuannai/7/1/1650.html
- SATURDAY TAMBA: cafe genten in an Edo-period farmhouse (18 October 2024)
- https://saturdaytamba.com/gourmet/210
- SATURDAY TAMBA: Lunch spots in Tamba, including Cafe genten (27 September 2022)
- https://saturdaytamba.com/spot/160
Last verified: 2026.10.01
