What Is the Former Hirata Family Residence Main House?
The Former Hirata Family Residence Main House (旧平田家住宅主屋, Kyū Hirata-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a single-storey timber house built around 1870 in Chiyoda-cho, Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 17, 2015. It was altered around 1921.
The house stands near the middle of the estate, facing south, with a building area of 229 square meters. Of the 7 registered structures it is both the oldest and the largest. The shoin wing is joined to its west end and the storehouses line up behind it, so the rest of the estate is arranged around this building.
A Big Roof and a Formal Entrance
The Former Hirata Family Residence Main House measures 10 ken by 5.5 ken, a ken being the traditional bay of roughly 1.8 meters. A large gabled roof of pantiles covers the core, and a lower lean-to roof, or Geya, wraps around all four sides. Seen from the front, the two roof lines stack one above the other.
Projecting from the front is a Shikidai, a formal entrance porch with its own hip-and-gable roof. Guests of standing came in here, separately from the doors the family and servants used every day. For a family that had served as village headmen, a proper place to receive official visitors was a necessity.
Inside, the east side is an earth-floored Doma work area, and the west side follows a Rokumadori plan of six rooms in two rows, with the reception rooms along the south front. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a large house with the imposing presence of an old established family.
Sword Marks and a Telephone Room
Yokkaichi City notes that the Former Hirata Family Residence Main House is said to keep repaired sword cuts from 1876, when the estate was attacked during the Ise Riot. That uprising, driven by anger at the new land-tax system, spread across Mie and targeted the homes of village leaders; this house was only about 6 years old at the time.
A Mie Prefecture summary adds that the house was fitted with a telephone room, then the latest in domestic technology. The documents do not say when it was installed. Between them, the scars of a rural revolt and an early telephone room mark two very different moments in the life of the same house.
Seeing the Main House
We found no report of the interior of the Former Hirata Family Residence Main House being opened to the public. The estate's seasonal openings cover the shoin and the garden, so there is no confirmed chance to see the sword marks or the telephone room.
The shikidai porch sits straight ahead of the granite gateposts on the south side. Opening periods and directions are given on the Former Hirata Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Former Hirata Family Residence Main House built?
- Around 1870, with alterations around 1921. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 17, 2015.
- How big is the Former Hirata Family Residence Main House?
- It is a single-storey timber house with a building area of 229 square meters, measuring 10 by 5.5 ken. The east side is an earth-floored work area and the west side has six rooms, with reception rooms along the south.
- What are the Ise Riot marks in the Former Hirata Family Residence Main House?
- According to Yokkaichi City, the house keeps repaired sword cuts said to date from an attack during the Ise Riot of 1876.
- What is the shikidai of the Former Hirata Family Residence Main House?
- It is the formal entrance porch with a hip-and-gable roof projecting from the front, used to receive guests of standing.
- Can I go inside the Former Hirata Family Residence Main House?
- We found no report of the interior being opened. The seasonal openings of the Former Hirata Family Residence cover the shoin and the garden.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Hirata Family Residence Main House (旧平田家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 941 Chiyodacho, Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registration no. 24-0220 |
| Year Designated | Registered November 17, 2015 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof, building area 229 square meters, 10 by 5.5 ken |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Interior closed (the shoin and garden of the estate open for limited periods) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Hirata Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010819
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Hirata Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/213544
- Former Hirata Family Residence Main House and 6 others (Yokkaichi City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.yokkaichi.lg.jp/www/contents/1001000002610/index.html
- Outline of new Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in Mie Prefecture (Mie Prefecture, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.mie.lg.jp/common/content/000371905.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.27
