A Cedar-Clad House of 1934
The Hattori Family Residence Main House (服部家住宅主屋) is the main house of a rice merchant's family of 1934 in Kosugi-cho, Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 29, 2019 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a 2-storey timber house with a tiled roof and a building area of 300 square metres; registration number 24-263.
A Swelling Roof and Cedar-Bark Walls
The Hattori Family Residence Main House stands in the middle of the plot, facing north (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its core is fully 2-storey under a tiled hip-and-gable roof with a gentle upward swell, known as mukuri, with single-storey wings to east and west, and the outer walls are clad in cedar bark. Yokkaichi City singles out the polished look of this exterior.
Each floor has its own character (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The ground floor has reception rooms in the relaxed sukiya manner, the upper floor a formal room in the shoin style, while the parlour and the dining room are Western-style. Yokkaichi City notes that the ridge tablet records an Osaka building firm as designer and builder, a hint of how far the family's connections reached.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency describes it as a high-quality modern Japanese-style house built with fine timber throughout, and registered it as a model of design. The storehouse, front gate and barn, registered on the same day, were listed for their contribution to the historic landscape; the main house is the only one of the four registered on grounds of design.
What to Look For
Watch the line of the roof. A mukuri roof bows very slightly upward between ridge and eaves, which softens the bulk of the big hip-and-gable form. On the walls, the brown of the cedar bark and its vertical grain become the texture of the house itself.
The contrast between the sukiya rooms downstairs and the shoin-style room upstairs cannot be seen in person, as the interior is closed. The photographs Yokkaichi City released at the time of registration include the upstairs shoin-style room and the Western-style parlour on the ground floor.
Visiting
The Hattori Family Residence Main House is a private home, and its interior is not open to the public. It stands in the middle of the plot, set back behind the front gate on the street. There is no official guidance on how much of it can be seen from the road, so please stay off the property and look only from the street.
Q&A
- When was the Hattori Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1934 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What kind of building is the Hattori Family Residence Main House?
- A timber house, fully 2-storey under a swelling hip-and-gable roof with single-storey wings to east and west, clad in cedar bark, with a building area of 300 square metres (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is inside the Hattori Family Residence Main House?
- Sukiya-style rooms on the ground floor, a shoin-style room upstairs, and a Western-style parlour and dining room (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Can I visit the Hattori Family Residence Main House?
- It is a private home, and the interior is not open to the public.
- When was the Hattori Family Residence Main House registered?
- On March 29, 2019 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Hattori Family Residence Main House (服部家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 604 and other lots, Kosugi-cho, Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2019/03/29 (Heisei 31) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber, tiled roof, 300 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- Hattori Family Residence Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012747
- Hattori Family Residence Main House, Barn, Storehouse and Front Gate (Yokkaichi City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.yokkaichi.lg.jp/www/contents/1542592489487/index.html
- Summary of newly recommended registrations (Mie Prefecture, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.mie.lg.jp/common/content/000806950.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.20
