A Detached Wing Behind the Main Building
The Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex (旧料理旅館九重別館, Kyū Ryōri Ryokan Kokonoe Bekkan) is a small detached guest wing of around 1949 at the former Kokonoe dining inn in Ueno Nishihinatamachi, Iga City, Mie Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2018. It is a single-story timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of just 54 square meters.
The Kokonoe Annex stands apart, behind the Main Building. A 2018 newspaper report places it to the west, across an inner garden. While the Main Building addresses the streets, the Annex is tucked into the back of the plot, screened from public view.
Inside are two tatami reception rooms, each with an entrance of its own, and a shared washroom and service area where the two meet. Guests could arrive through separate doors and spend the evening without crossing paths with the party next door. For an inn built around banquets, this was a wing for smaller, more private gatherings.
Why the Kokonoe Annex Was Registered
The Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex was entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) on May 10, 2018, as number 24-250. It was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes its finish as being in the manner of shinkō sukiya, the "new sukiya" idiom that spread in the Shōwa period and recast the rustic tea-house style of sukiya architecture with a modern sensibility. The Agency adds that, together with the Main Building, the Annex conveys well the character of a traditional timber dining inn. Within a few years of the war's end, a provincial castle-town inn was building guest rooms in this up-to-date taste.
What to Look For at the Kokonoe Annex
The interest of the Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex lies in its materials. The entrances and the lean-to roofs (geya) are roofed with blue tiles, and the walls use random-cut stone and ceramic tile. These hard, colored surfaces give a small building a lightness quite unlike the grey tile and earthen plaster of the older structures around it.
Inside, the walls are of the ōkabe type, plastered over so that the posts are hidden. Traditional sukiya rooms usually leave the posts exposed, so choosing smooth, unbroken walls points to a designer reaching for something new rather than reproducing the old form.
The paired entrances deserve a look as well. Two front doors side by side on so small a building make it plain that the Kokonoe Annex was meant to receive two parties at once.
Seeing the Kokonoe Annex
No public viewing of the Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex is advertised (as of October 2026). Because it stands detached behind the Main Building and does not face a street, it is hard to see the whole building from outside.
The site is private property, so it is best simply to note where the Annex lies from the street. No photography rules are posted; if you take pictures, do so without stepping onto the grounds.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Mie
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex
- [ Ise Grand Shrine & Shima Bay Cruise Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to around 1949. It is the newest of the three registered structures of the Former Ryokan Kokonoe.
- When was the Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex registered as a cultural property?
- It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) on May 10, 2018, as number 24-250.
- What is the layout of the Kokonoe Annex?
- It has two tatami reception rooms, each with its own entrance, and a shared washroom and service area at the point where they join.
- What style is the Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex built in?
- It is finished in the shinkō sukiya, or "new sukiya," manner, with blue tiles on the entrances and lean-to roofs, random-cut stone and tile on the walls, and plastered-over walls inside.
- Can visitors see the Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex?
- No public viewing is advertised. It stands detached behind the Main Building and does not face a street, so it is difficult to see from outside.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex (旧料理旅館九重別館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1773 Ueno Nishihinatamachi and others, Iga City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered May 10, 2018 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single story, tiled roof, building area 54 square meters |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; does not face a street |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012380
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Ryokan Kokonoe Annex (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/543594
- Iga Town Joho YOU: Former Ryokan Kokonoe to Become a Registered Cultural Property (March 9, 2018, Japanese)
- https://www.iga-younet.co.jp/news1/2018/03/post-460.html
Last verified: 2026.10.16
