A Bonito Maker's House above the Pacific
Katsuo no Tenpaku Main House (かつおの天ぱく主屋) is the house of a dried-bonito maker of 1951 in Nakiri, Daiocho, Shima City, Mie Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 31, 2022 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber house with a tiled roof and a building area of 54 square metres; registration number 24-0322.
A House Built to Stand the Wind at Daiozaki
The Katsuo no Tenpaku Main House is the home of a dried-bonito maker on Cape Daio, looking out over the Pacific (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Set on a plot one step below the cliff to the east and the road to the south, it is a single-storey timber house under a gabled tiled roof, with vertical board walls to stand up to the wind.
Today the four-mat room at the south-west corner displays the products and the rest is used for storage (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The site lets fish landed at Nakiri harbour be processed at once.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it, as the house of a dried-bonito maker placed to process the catch of Nakiri harbour straight away, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
What to Look For
Look at how the house sits below the cliff and the road, and at its vertical board walls against the wind (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The two buildings are introduced together on the Katsuo no Tenpaku page. According to the company's official site, tours of the smoking hut are by reservation only, at least five days ahead (excluding weekends and holidays); they last one to one and a half hours, starting at 11:00 and 13:00 from October to May and at 10:00 from June to September. Kanko Mie gives the access as a Sanco bus from Ugata Station on the Kintetsu line to Daiozaki Todai, then about 10 minutes on foot.
Q&A
- When was the main house built?
- In 1951 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How is it used today?
- One small room displays the products; the rest is storage.
- What is it like?
- A single-storey gabled house with vertical board walls against the wind.
- Where is it?
- On Cape Daio in Nakiri, Daiocho, Shima City, Mie Prefecture.
- When was Katsuo no Tenpaku Main House registered?
- On October 31, 2022 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Katsuo no Tenpaku Main House (かつおの天ぱく主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 393 Nakiri, Daiocho, Shima City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2022/10/31 (Reiwa 4) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof, 54 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | Smoking hut tours by reservation only (official site) |
References
- Katsuo no Tenpaku Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014395
- Smoking hut tours (Katsuo no Tenpaku official site, Japanese)
- https://katuobushi.com/?page_id=554
- Katsuo no Tenpaku smoking hut tour (Kanko Mie, Mie Prefecture tourism site, Japanese)
- https://www.kankomie.or.jp/spot/23250
Last verified: 2026.10.21
