What Is the Former Kitato Suimeiso?
The Former Kitato Suimeiso (旧喜多藤翠明荘, Kyū-Kitato Suimeisō) is a single-storey timber house with a hipped-and-gabled Irimoya-zukuri tile roof on the grounds of a former restaurant inn in Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture; built in 1936, it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 14 October 2021. It covers 59 square meters.
Suimeiso stands west of the Great Hall Building. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs it was originally a residence, and it has two covered corridors attached: one to the Great Hall and one to the Satsukiryo tea room. The agency's photograph of the Former Kitato Suimeiso was taken looking down from the Great Hall's upper floor.
Unlike the Annex and the Great Hall, which were built for guests, Suimeiso was built for the people who ran the inn. Its two corridors still tie it to the banquet hall on one side and the tea room on the other.
A Light Roof and a Cut-Away Wall
The roof of the Former Kitato Suimeiso is tiled, but the eaves are finished in copper sheet. The thickness of the tiles stops short of the edge, and the roof ends in a thin copper line, so a low single-storey building does not look top-heavy. The agency reads this as a deliberate lightening of the roof.
The wing walls of the connecting corridor have semicircular cut-outs. Rounding off the end of a wall takes the hard edge off a plain partition. The agency describes Suimeiso as overflowing with the playful taste of Sukiya-zukuri design.
A Ten-Mat Guest Room and a Western Room
Inside are a guest room of 10 tatami and a Western-style room. The guest room has a built-in writing alcove whose window is a Shitaji-mado, an opening left unplastered to show its bamboo lattice, cut in the outline of a Kōzama.
A kozama is the cusped panel outline carved on the sides of altar platforms and pedestals. Borrowing that shape for a humble lattice window in a clay wall is typical of the sukiya approach, and it is the detail to remember in Suimeiso.
Pairing a tatami room with a Western room echoes the ground floor of the Great Hall Building, built the same year. Even in the family's own house, the mix of sukiya detail and a Western room shows the taste of a ryotei owner in the mid-1930s.
Visiting the Former Kitato Suimeiso
The Former Kitato Suimeiso is privately owned and its interior is not open. The grounds inside the gate are closed to visitors.
As a single-storey house deep in the lot, west of the Great Hall, it cannot be seen from the gate on Honmachi-dori. 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 Suimeiso
- [ Ise Grand Shrine & Shima Bay Cruise Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Former Kitato Suimeiso built?
- In 1936, the same year as the Great Hall Building and the Satsukiryo tea room.
- What was the Former Kitato Suimeiso used for?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs it was originally a residence. Covered corridors link it to the Great Hall and to the Satsukiryo tea room.
- What details should I know about the Former Kitato Suimeiso?
- The kozama-shaped lattice window of the guest room, the semicircular cut-outs in the corridor walls, and the copper-clad eaves that make the tiled roof look lighter.
- When did the Former Kitato Suimeiso become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 14 October 2021, as registration number 24-292, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
- Can I visit the Former Kitato Suimeiso?
- No. It is privately owned, the interior is closed, and the house stands deep in the grounds where it cannot be seen from the street.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kitato Suimeiso (旧喜多藤翠明荘, Kyū-Kitato Suimeisō) |
|---|---|
| Location | 118-1 Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), Registration No. 24-292 |
| Year Designated | 2021 (registered 14 October 2021) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 1 storey, tile roof, building area 59 square meters |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Kitato Suimeiso (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013734
- 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
