What Is the Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet?
The Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet (見世土井家住宅外便所, Misedoi-ke Jūtaku Sotobenjo) is a small single-storey timber outbuilding of the early Shōwa period (1926 to 1945) on the Misedoi estate in Asahi-cho, Owase City, Mie Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 4 August 2015. With a building area of 7.6 square metres, it is the smallest of the nine registered structures.
It stands northwest of the main house, squeezed between the main storehouse and the rice storehouse. Every other outbuilding has an east-west ridge; this one runs north to south. It is 5.6 metres long but only 1.4 metres wide, under a gabled Sangawara-buki roof.
It served as the toilet for the household's servants and doubled as a store for pickles.
Why a Servants' Toilet Matters
The Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Attention at historic houses tends to go to main buildings, gates and storehouses; here a facility built for domestic staff survives as a structure in its own right and is formally listed.
A large house like this ran on the labour of many people, and they had their own spaces apart from those of the family and guests. Placing a separate toilet among the storehouses at the back, rather than inside the main house, makes that arrangement physically visible.
Sharing one narrow building between a toilet and a pickle store also says a lot about the purely practical character of the service yard.
What to Look For
The interest lies in how it is screened. The door is on the east side, and on the west side stands a yamato-bari board fence, with boards set alternately on the front and back faces so air passes but eyes cannot. It blocks the view from the north service gate.
That gate was the estate's back entrance. The building's orientation and the fence were arranged so people coming through it would not look straight at the toilet door. The well house has a boarded west side for the same reason, which suggests the outbuildings at the back were planned together.
At 1.4 metres wide, the building is barely wider than a corridor, a plan shaped entirely by the narrow gap between the two storehouses.
Visiting the Outdoor Toilet
The Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet stands in the service yard and is not open to the public. The estate does not admit people who come only to see its cultural properties, as a rule, and there are no viewing days (checked 17 September 2026).
Its board fence was built precisely to block views from the north gate, so it is hard to see from the street by design. Please do not try to look in over the walls.
Directions and entry conditions for the estate are gathered on the Misedoi Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Who used the Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet?
- The household's servants. The building also served as a place to keep pickles.
- Where is the Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet?
- Northwest of the main house, between the main storehouse and the rice storehouse, with its ridge running north to south.
- How big is the Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet?
- It is 5.6 metres long and 1.4 metres wide, with a building area of 7.6 square metres, the smallest of the nine registered structures.
- Why does the Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet have a board fence?
- The yamato-bari fence on the west side screens the building from the north service gate. The door is on the opposite, east side.
- Can I visit the Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet?
- No. It is not open, and the estate does not admit sightseers as a rule (checked 17 September 2026).
Basic Information
| Name | Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet (見世土井家住宅外便所) |
|---|---|
| Location | 72 Asahi-cho, Owase City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), register no. 24-0212 |
| Year Designated | Registered 4 August 2015 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single-storey, tiled roof, building area 7.6 square metres |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Closed. The estate does not admit sightseers as a rule. |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010621
- Cultural Heritage Online: Misedoi Family Residence Outdoor Toilet (in Japanese)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/246815
- Owase City: Misedoi Family Residence Main House and Eight Other Structures (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.owase.lg.jp/0000013066.html
- Owase City: Summary of the Nine Registered Structures (PDF, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.owase.lg.jp/cmsfiles/contents/0000013/13066/doimisegaiyou.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.17
