What the Main House Is
The Yokoyama Family Residence Main House (横山家住宅主屋, Yokoyama-ke Jūtaku Omoya) in Oaza Komono, Komono Town, Mie Prefecture, is a single-storey timber farmhouse of the late Edo period (1830 to 1868), registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on April 3, 2020. It covers 175 square meters under a tiled roof, partly finished in metal sheet.
It stands near the center of the estate, and the shoin to the west, the storehouse to the north and the former clinic to the east are all placed in relation to it.
Family tradition, recorded by Yokoyama Yoji in the Komono Cultural Properties Newsletter, holds that the previous house collapsed in the Ansei Iga earthquake of 1854 and that the present Yokoyama Family Residence Main House was built after it. The head of the family at the time had been appointed an intendant of the Komono domain, so this was built as an official's house.
A Swelling Hip-and-Gable Roof
The roof is what defines the Yokoyama Family Residence Main House. It is a hip-and-gable roof (Irimoya-zukuri) laid with pantiles (Sangawara-buki) and given a slight upward swell (mukuri), which softens the line of a heavy tiled roof.
A small decorative gable (Chidori-hafu) sits toward the west end of the south slope, lean-tos (Geya) run around all four sides, and the entrance has its own gabled canopy. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the effect imposing and classes the building as the house of a well-to-do farming family.
The roof was originally thatched. According to the same essay it was re-covered with pantiles in 1919, a repair the Agency's database also records. The swelling tiled roof you see today dates from then.
Earth Floor and Raised Rooms
Inside, the Yokoyama Main House has an earth-floored area (Doma) on the east and raised rooms on the west. The Buddhist altar room among them has an alcove and a family altar. Although it was the house of a domain intendant, its framework is that of a large Edo-period farmhouse.
A kitchen was added in the early Showa period and a bathroom around 1965. It is register no. 24-0276, registered under the historic landscape criterion.
Seeing the Main House
The Yokoyama Family Residence Main House stands at the center of the grounds, its front door at the end of the cut-stone path from the main gate. The small gable on the south slope and the entrance canopy show well from the entrance court just inside the gate.
The interior is not open on a regular basis, and how much of it can be seen varies from event to event, so ask when you book. Visiting conditions and directions for the estate are on the Yokoyama Family Residence group page.
Q&A
- When was the Yokoyama Family Residence Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period (1830 to 1868). Family tradition says it was rebuilt after the previous house fell in the Ansei Iga earthquake of 1854.
- What is special about the roof of the Yokoyama Family Residence Main House?
- It is a pantiled hip-and-gable roof with a slight upward swell and a small decorative gable toward the west of the south slope. It was thatched until 1919.
- What is the layout of the Yokoyama Family Residence Main House?
- An earth-floored area on the east and raised rooms on the west, including an altar room with an alcove. A kitchen was added in the early Showa period and a bathroom around 1965.
- Why is the Yokoyama Family Residence Main House a registered cultural property?
- It was registered on April 3, 2020, under the historic landscape criterion, as the imposing house of a well-to-do farming family. Its register number is 24-0276.
- Can visitors see the Yokoyama Family Residence Main House?
- It is not open on a regular basis. Visits are by reservation at events, and how much of the house is shown varies by event.
Basic Information
| Name | Yokoyama Family Residence Main House (横山家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2657 Aza Nakazato, Oaza Komono, Komono Town, Mie District, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), register no. 24-0276 |
| Year Designated | Registered April 3, 2020 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey wooden building, tiled roof partly metal-sheeted, building area 175 square meters |
| Owner | Waiwai Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Not open regularly. By reservation at events |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Yokoyama Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013261
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yokoyama Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/449990
- Registered Cultural Property: Yokoyama Family Residence (Komono Town, in Japanese)
- https://www2.town.komono.mie.jp/site/kankou/2028.html
- Komono Cultural Properties Newsletter, Issue 34 (Komono Town Board of Education)
- https://www2.town.komono.mie.jp/uploaded/attachment/5102.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.27
