A Covered Walkway Framing the Garden
The Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor (長井家住宅（梅屋）渡り廊下) is a covered walkway of around 1931 in Higashinagashima, Kihoku-cho, Mie Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on June 24, 2021. It links the Main House with the South Storehouse and closes off the southwest side of the compound's main garden.
The corridor starts at the toilet south of the Main House, runs south, then turns east to meet the entrance porch (Tomae) on the north end of the South Storehouse. It is a single-story timber structure with a building area of 18 square meters under a gabled pantile roof.
Why It Was Registered
The Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor was registered for contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it shapes the view of the main garden: a practical route for reaching the family storehouse dry-shod, which from the garden side becomes the frame of a picture.
Around 1931 the family built walls, gates and this corridor in one campaign. Together with the Inner Wall, the corridor stitched two late Edo buildings, the Main House and the South Storehouse, into an enclosed garden.
What to Look For
The two faces of the corridor are the point. On the garden side it is open, with round posts and no wall, so you walk along the garden while looking at it. The west and south sides are closed with earthen walls finished in Otsu plaster, a smooth, lightly polished clay finish, with wooden lattice windows set high.
Outside, the lower walls are finished in tinted mortar scraped back to a rough texture, a plastering technique that spread in the early Showa years. Clay walls and modern mortar in one small building capture the moment it was built.
Visiting
The Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor sits within the enclosed main garden and cannot be seen from outside the property. It is not open to visitors.
Viewing conditions and directions for the whole estate are on the Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) page.
Q&A
- When was the Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor built?
- Around 1931.
- Where does the Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor lead?
- From the toilet south of the Main House it runs south, then turns east to the entrance porch on the north end of the South Storehouse.
- What are the features of the Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor?
- It is open with round posts on the garden side, has Otsu-plastered clay walls with lattice windows on the west and south, and scraped tinted mortar on the lower outer walls.
- Can you see the Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor?
- No. It lies inside the enclosed main garden, out of sight from the road, and is not open to visitors.
- How big is the Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor?
- It is a single-story timber structure with a building area of 18 square meters.
Basic Information
| Name | Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor |
|---|---|
| Location | 2495-1 Yobisaki, Higashinagashima, Kihoku-cho, Kitamuro-gun, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/6/24 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-story timber building, tiled roof, building area 18 square meters |
| Owner | Not published (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (no interior opening announced) |
References
- Cultural Heritage Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Nagai Family Residence (Umeya) Connecting Corridor
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013815
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs report on new registrations, March 19, 2021 (Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93206101_04.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.26
