Former Sugimoto Family Residence

The Former Sugimoto Family Residence: a Meiji farmhouse compound in Hakusan, Tsu

The Former Sugimoto Family Residence (旧杉本家住宅, Kyū Sugimoto-ke Jūtaku) is a Meiji-period farming household's compound in Hattaino, Hakusan-cho, Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, whose main house, detached reception room, long house and nagayamon gate were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on November 17, 2015. The place name 八対野 is read Hattaino.

According to Mie Prefecture's summary for the registration, the Sugimoto family farmed and worked forest land, and in the Meiji period a member of the family served as head of the local village, 八ツ山村. The Agency for Cultural Affairs places the house in the farming and mountain villages of western Tsu. This was the home of a family that held fields and woodland in a valley community and also ran its local government.

The prefecture describes the layout as a good example of how prosperous farming families in the area lived in the Meiji era.

Four registrations at the Former Sugimoto Family Residence

The four buildings of the Former Sugimoto Family Residence were registered on the same day under consecutive numbers: 24-0216 for the main house, 24-0217 for the detached room, 24-0218 for the long house and 24-0219 for the gate. All four were registered as buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country.

Put the Agency's dates in order and a sequence appears. The nagayamon gate was built in the early Meiji period (1868–1882) and brought here from nearby around 1879. The detached room went up around 1893 and was remodeled around 1935. The main house also dates from the early Meiji period, but it was moved onto this site in the Meiji 30s (1897–1906). The long house was built around 1905 and moved around 1955.

Three of the four buildings were relocated at some point, so the compound was assembled over more than half a century rather than built in one campaign. The gate was renovated again in 2011.

How the Former Sugimoto Family Residence is laid out

At the Former Sugimoto Family Residence the main house stands in the middle of the plot, facing south. A connecting corridor joins it on the west to the detached room, which faces east onto the main garden. The long house is attached to the east side of the main house and runs south along the eastern edge of the plot. The nagayamon gate stands on the south edge, toward the east.

The prefecture notes that the buildings are set around a front yard. Step through the gate and the main house is straight ahead, the detached room to the left and the long house to the right, so daily life, farm work and the entertaining of guests all faced the same open space. The detached room hosted tea gatherings and other social occasions, and the long house was first used for raising silkworms.

Each building's structure and details are covered on its own page.

Visiting the Former Sugimoto Family Residence

No information about public openings or interior visits to the Former Sugimoto Family Residence could be found, and no admission fee or opening hours have been published. Tsu City's list of registered properties gives the owner of all four buildings as a private individual.

If you go, please look from the road only and do not enter the grounds or pass the gate. Out of courtesy to the residents, avoid lingering at the gate or pointing a camera into the property.

The nearest station to the Former Sugimoto Family Residence is Sekinomiya on the JR Meisho Line, about 1.7 kilometers away in a straight line. Higashi-Aoyama on the Kintetsu Osaka Line is about 3 kilometers away in a straight line (both figures are calculated from map coordinates).

Names and spellings of the Former Sugimoto Family Residence

The registered names are 旧杉本家住宅主屋 (Main House, shuoku), 旧杉本家住宅離れ座敷 (Detached Room, hanare-zashiki), 旧杉本家住宅長屋 (Long House, nagaya) and 旧杉本家住宅長屋門 (Nagayamon Gate, nagayamon). The prefix kyū (旧) means "former."

The Former Sugimoto Family Residence should not be confused with the Sugimoto Family Residence in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, the town house of the Naraya kimono merchants. The two belong to unrelated families.