What Is the Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin?
The Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin (旧平田家住宅書院, Kyū Hirata-ke Jūtaku Shoin) is a single-storey timber reception wing built around 1884 in Chiyoda-cho, Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 17, 2015. Its building area is 101 square meters.
A shoin, in a Japanese house of this kind, is the formal suite where guests were entertained, as distinct from the family's everyday rooms. This one is joined to the west end of the main house and was added about 14 years after it. It is also the only building of the Former Hirata Family Residence that visitors can currently enter during the estate's seasonal openings.
Two Rooms and a Veranda
The Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin has a hip-and-gable roof of pantiles, ringed by a lower lean-to roof.
Inside, a 15-mat principal room sits beside a 10-mat anteroom, and a veranda runs around them. On the east side, toward the main house, are a Buddhist altar room and a small 4.5-mat room. The larger room is the seat of honor and the smaller one serves as its antechamber.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a shoin of refined design. Its standing comes less from ornament than from the quality of its timber and joinery.
Yakusugi Ceilings and Carved Transoms
The materials are the point here. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin uses fine timber throughout, including yakusugi, the prized ancient cedar of Yakushima island, and Kasuga cedar from Nara. Press reports say the ceiling boards are yakusugi and that, apart from new paper in the shoji screens, the tatami and posts remain as they were when the wing was built.
Between the rooms are wooden Ranma, transom panels above the sliding doors, cut in Sukashibori openwork with motifs such as mountains and the moon. When light comes through, the pattern falls as a shadow into the next room. Sit down on the tatami and look up: the ceiling and the transoms are what repay attention.
Visiting the Shoin
The Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin serves as an exhibition space for Gallery Meguro Togeikan, and during the free seasonal openings in spring and autumn ceramics and other works are shown in its rooms. From the veranda you look out over the garden, said to have been laid out in 1885.
There is no fixed annual schedule. Dates and directions are on the Former Hirata Family Residence page, and photography rules should be checked on the day.
Q&A
- When was the Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin built?
- Around 1884. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 17, 2015.
- What rooms does the Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin have?
- A 15-mat principal room and a 10-mat anteroom side by side with a veranda around them, plus a Buddhist altar room and a 4.5-mat room to the east.
- What timber is used in the Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin?
- Fine timbers such as yakusugi and Kasuga cedar are used throughout. Press reports say the ceiling boards are yakusugi.
- What are the transoms like in the Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin?
- Between the rooms are wooden transom panels carved in openwork with motifs such as mountains and the moon.
- Can I go inside the Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin?
- Yes, during free openings held for limited periods in spring and autumn, when the rooms and the garden can be seen. Dates vary from year to year.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin (旧平田家住宅書院) |
|---|---|
| Location | 941 Chiyodacho, Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registration no. 24-0221 |
| Year Designated | Registered November 17, 2015 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof, building area 101 square meters |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Open for limited periods (free openings in spring, autumn and other seasons) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010820
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Hirata Family Residence Shoin
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/247275
- Former Hirata Family Residence Main House and 6 others (Yokkaichi City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.yokkaichi.lg.jp/www/contents/1001000002610/index.html
- Chunichi Shimbun, September 2023: shoin and garden opened to the public (Japanese)
- https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/761691
- Chunichi Shimbun, November 2025: shoin and garden open until December 9 (Japanese)
- https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/1169065
Last verified: 2026.09.27
