What Is the Former Kitato Great Hall Building?
The Former Kitato Great Hall Building (旧喜多藤大広間棟, Kyū-Kitato Ōhiromatō) is the banquet block of a former restaurant inn in Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture; built in 1936 as a two-storey timber building under a hipped-and-gabled Irimoya-zukuri tile roof, it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 14 October 2021. Its footprint is 164 square meters.
It stands just west of the Annex and, like the Annex, faces north. A covered corridor links it to the Toilet Building, and another runs west to the Suimeiso residence.
It is one of three Former Kitato buildings completed in 1936, alongside Suimeiso and the Satsukiryo tea room. It is the only two-storey building in that group.
A Dance Hall on the Ground Floor
The ground floor of the Former Kitato Great Hall Building holds tatami rooms and a dance hall. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the hall as Western in character, with Chinese-style details worked into it, a room built to show off its owners' taste.
A Western room for dancing, with Chinese touches, inside a Japanese restaurant inn is an unusual mix. It shows what a provincial ryotei in the mid-1930s thought its party guests would want.
The tatami rooms on the same floor matter too. With a Japanese banquet room and a Western dance floor side by side, the inn could suit the room to the occasion.
The 44-Tatami Great Hall
Upstairs is the great hall itself, 44 tatami in size. Its ceiling is a coved coffered ceiling, raised in the center, and the walls are finished in colored plaster. The agency calls the upper floor of the Former Kitato Great Hall Building lavish.
Coffered ceilings belong to formal rooms in temples and reception halls, and lifting the center on a cove raises the rank of the room further still. Here the ceiling gives a room this wide the height and formality to match.
On the river side the wall opens across its full width with floor-level windows, as in the Annex, so anyone seated in the hall faces the Nabari River. The upper floors of the Great Hall and the Annex together make up the inn's long river front.
Visiting the Former Kitato Great Hall Building
The Former Kitato Great Hall Building is privately owned. Neither the dance hall nor the great hall is open to visitors, and the grounds inside the gate are closed.
Because the building stands deep in the lot, west of the Annex, it cannot really be seen from the gate on Honmachi-dori. Please take photos from the public road only. Access and the site layout are covered on the Former Kitato page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Mie
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Kitato Great Hall Building
- [ Ise Grand Shrine & Shima Bay Cruise Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Former Kitato Great Hall Building built?
- In 1936, the same year as Suimeiso and the Satsukiryo tea room.
- What is on the ground floor of the Former Kitato Great Hall Building?
- Tatami rooms and a dance hall. The dance hall is Western in style with Chinese-style details.
- How big is the great hall in the Former Kitato Great Hall Building?
- The upstairs hall is 44 tatami, with a coved coffered ceiling and colored plaster walls.
- When did the Former Kitato Great Hall Building become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 14 October 2021, as registration number 24-291, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
- Can I see inside the Former Kitato Great Hall Building?
- No. It is privately owned, the interior is not open, and visitors cannot enter the grounds.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kitato Great Hall Building (旧喜多藤大広間棟, Kyū-Kitato Ōhiromatō) |
|---|---|
| Location | 118-1 Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), Registration No. 24-291 |
| Year Designated | 2021 (registered 14 October 2021) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tile roof, building area 164 square meters |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Kitato Great Hall Building (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013733
- Cultural Properties (Nabari City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.nabari.lg.jp/s061/010/020/000/030/201502051897.html
- List of Designated Cultural Properties in Nabari (Nabari City, PDF, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.nabari.lg.jp/s061/010/020/000/030/R7shiteibunnkazaiitirann64.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.27
