What is the Yamanaka Family Residence Annex?
The Yamanaka Family Residence Annex (山中家住宅離れ, Yamanaka-ke Jūtaku Hanare) is an early Meiji-era guest pavilion in the northwest corner of the Yamanaka family's townhouse plot in Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Registered Tangible Cultural Property) on September 10, 2019. It is a 2-story timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 49 square meters.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the annex to the early Meiji era (1868 to 1882) and notes that it was altered in the mid-Meiji years. It stands at the back of the plot, across the central garden from the main house on the Hase Kaido road, and faces south.
Same plan, different finish
The Yamanaka Family Residence Annex has a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) covered in interlocking pan tiles (Sangawara-buki). The two floors share one plan: an 8-mat reception room (Zashiki) beside a 6-mat anteroom, with a veranda along the south side looking onto the garden.
What changes between the floors is the finish. Downstairs, the ceiling is simply the exposed joists and floorboards of the room above, and decoration is kept to a minimum. Upstairs, the reception room has a built-in writing alcove (Tsukeshoin) and carved transom panels (Ranma) above the sliding doors. The 2019 newspaper report says the upper floor was used to receive guests, which fits a plan that keeps its best finish for the upper rooms.
An exposed-joist ceiling of this kind saves the cost and labor of a separate boarded ceiling, so the plain ground floor reads as a deliberate economy. The contrast between the two floors is the first thing the agency's note points out about the building.
Registered as a model of design
The Yamanaka Family Residence Annex was registered under the criterion of serving as a model of design. It is the only one of the four Yamanaka buildings registered on that basis; the main house and the two storehouses were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape.
The agency's note praises the annex as a well-built detached reception pavilion with refined design. It is a small building, with just two rooms and a veranda on each floor, and it is the care spent on the writing alcove and carved transoms upstairs that earns it this assessment.
The north storehouse stands in the same northern part of the plot, facing east. The agency explains that the storehouse and the annex together make up the household's compound in the northwest corner, so the two buildings read as one group at the back of the site.
Seeing the Yamanaka Family Residence Annex
Because the Yamanaka Family Residence Annex stands at the back of the plot, it can barely be seen from the public road, and neither the building nor the garden is open to the public.
Since 2026 the property has been run as kyucho hotel, a house rented to one party at a time, but the sources checked for this article do not say if the annex is part of the guest accommodation. Anyone hoping to see the writing alcove and carved transoms should ask the operator in advance.
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Q&A
- When was the Yamanaka Family Residence Annex built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Meiji era (1868 to 1882), with alterations in the mid-Meiji years. That makes it the youngest of the four registered buildings; the main house and the storehouses are late Edo period.
- Why is the Yamanaka Family Residence Annex a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on September 10, 2019, as a model of design. The agency singles out the writing alcove and carved transoms of the upper reception room, calling it a well-built detached pavilion.
- How do the two floors of the Yamanaka Family Residence Annex differ?
- Both have an 8-mat reception room and a 6-mat anteroom with a south-facing veranda. The ground floor has an exposed-joist ceiling and little ornament, while the upper floor has a built-in writing alcove and carved transoms.
- Can the Yamanaka Family Residence Annex be seen from the street?
- Hardly at all. It stands in the northwest corner at the back of the plot, behind the main house that fronts the Hase Kaido.
- Is it possible to go inside the Yamanaka Family Residence Annex?
- It is not open to the public. The property operates as kyucho hotel, but it has not been confirmed if guests can use the annex, so please ask the operator.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamanaka Family Residence Annex |
|---|---|
| Location | 200 Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered September 10, 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 stories, tiled roof, building area 49 m² |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; barely visible from the road |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamanaka Family Residence Annex (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012935
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamanaka Family Residence North Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012936
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yamanaka Family Residence Annex (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/443246
- Nabari City: List of Designated Cultural Properties, as of May 27, 2025 (Japanese, PDF)
- https://www.city.nabari.lg.jp/s061/010/020/000/030/R7shiteibunnkazaiitirann64.pdf
- Iga Town Joho YOU: Yamanaka Family Residence in Honmachi, Nabari, to Be Registered (March 19, 2019, Japanese)
- https://www.iga-younet.co.jp/2019/03/19/13532/
- Iga Town Joho YOU: Kyucho Hotel Opens in a Registered House in Honmachi, Nabari (May 8, 2026, Japanese)
- https://www.iga-younet.co.jp/2026/05/08/114510/
Last verified: 2026.10.02
