A Stable Built for Working Horses
The Stable of the Former Takahashi Residence (旧高橋家住宅（風の沢ミュージアム）馬屋, Kyū Takahashi-ke Jūtaku Umaya, read kyū-takahashi-ke jūtaku kazenosawa myūjiamu umaya) stands at Soto-no-sawa in the Katakozawa district of Ichihazama, Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture. Built around 1934, it is a single-storey thatched timber structure of 66 square metres that was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 26 February 2021, on the same day as the main house beside it.
It sits immediately east of the main house, its ridge running east to west so that the two buildings present themselves in a line to anyone approaching from the south. The Agency for Cultural Affairs entry notes the length along that ridge: eleven metres, which it describes as large for a stable.
Eleven metres is worth pausing over. A farm that built a stable at this scale in the mountains of northern Miyagi in the mid-1930s was committing serious timber and serious thatch to its animals. Horses did the ploughing, the hauling and the transport in this part of Tōhoku well into the postwar decades, and a household's standing could be read off the space it gave them.
How the Building Is Put Together
The interior divides in two. The western half is doma, beaten earth, where the horses were kept and worked around. The eastern half is raised on a floor, giving storage and workspace that stayed dry. That split between earth and boards runs through Japanese farm architecture generally, but in a stable the boundary carries a practical logic that is easy to see standing inside.
The openings on the doma side were made deliberately wide so that animals could be led in and out without difficulty. Doorways sized for a horse rather than a person change the proportions of a whole elevation, and this is the detail that most quickly distinguishes a stable from an outbuilding of similar bulk.
Above, the eaves are built out in segai-zukuri, a method in which short cantilever members are set on the wall plate to carry the eaves further out than the frame alone would allow. The result is a deep overhang, which in a snow country like northern Miyagi keeps precipitation off the earth floor and the base of the walls. Over that sits a hip roof in thatch, matching the main house in material and form.
The registration criterion applied was contribution to the historic landscape of the country, with registration number 04-195 in the 98th round. The assessment names the pairing directly: the stable, standing alongside the main house, gives this locality its particular character. Registration is a lighter instrument than the designation that produces National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, using notification rather than permission and intended to keep buildings usable.
The database records repairs in 2003 and 2015. As with the main house, the fabric visible today reflects those campaigns as well as the original work.
Seeing It, and Getting There
View the stable from the south, where its relationship with the main house is legible. Two large thatched roofs in a row against a wooded slope is a configuration that was once ordinary across rural Tōhoku and is now rare enough that the pair carried each other into the register.
Look at the eaves line. The segai construction gives a shadow under the roof that a simple eaves would not, and on a bright day the depth of that shadow is the clearest signal of how the building was designed to shed weather.
The site now operates as Kazenosawa (風の沢), a small complex with lodging, a café, a tea room, meditation space and walking ground on the surrounding hills. The operators open the grounds to the general public and state that the café and light meals need no reservation. Overnight stays are limited to one group per day and must be booked. This is a working hospitality business rather than a museum with fixed hours, so check the official site before setting out, and ask before photographing interiors.
Kurikoma-Kōgen Station on the Tōhoku Shinkansen is the nearest railhead, about thirty minutes by taxi. From the Tsukidate interchange on the Tōhoku Expressway, allow around twenty-five minutes by car. Free parking for roughly ten vehicles is available on site, and there is no bus route to the property.
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Q&A
- Where is the Stable of the Former Takahashi Residence, and can it be visited?
- It stands at Soto-no-sawa 11, Katakozawa, Ichihazama, Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, immediately east of the main house. The site runs as Kazenosawa and the grounds are open to the public, with a café that requires no reservation. What can be entered varies with how the buildings are being used, so confirm beforehand.
- When was the Stable of the Former Takahashi Residence built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to around 1934, in the early Shōwa era, with repairs in 2003 and 2015. It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 26 February 2021, registration number 04-195.
- What makes the Stable of the Former Takahashi Residence unusual?
- Its size. The building runs eleven metres along the ridge and covers 66 square metres, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs entry describes as large for a stable. The western half is earth-floored, the eastern half raised on boards, and the doma openings were made wide for horses.
- What does segai-zukuri mean at the Stable of the Former Takahashi Residence?
- It is an eaves construction that sets short cantilever members on the wall plate to push the eaves further out. At this building it produces a deep overhang beneath a thatched hip roof, protecting the earth floor and wall bases from rain and snow.
- How do I reach the Stable of the Former Takahashi Residence from the nearest station?
- Take the Tōhoku Shinkansen to Kurikoma-Kōgen Station and continue by taxi for about thirty minutes. By car it is roughly twenty-five minutes from the Tsukidate interchange on the Tōhoku Expressway, with free parking for about ten vehicles on site.
Basic Information
| Name | Stable of the Former Takahashi Residence (Kazenosawa Museum) / 旧高橋家住宅（風の沢ミュージアム）馬屋 |
|---|---|
| Location | Soto-no-sawa 11, Katakozawa, Ichihazama, Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 04-195 |
| Year Designated | Registered 26 February 2021 (98th round of registrations) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber frame, thatched roof, floor area 66 square metres; approximately 11 metres along the ridge |
| Owner | Art House Mimoza Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Grounds open as part of the Kazenosawa complex; café without reservation, lodging by booking only. Confirm current arrangements before visiting. |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Stable of the Former Takahashi Residence (Kazenosawa Museum)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013673
- Cultural Heritage Online: Stable of the Former Takahashi Residence (Kazenosawa Museum)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/541451
- Kazenosawa, official site
- https://kazenosawa.site/
- Kurihara City tourism association: Kazenosawa
- https://visit-kurihara.travel/spots/15
- Cominka-bito: Kazenosawa Museum of Art
- https://cominka.jp/37kazenosawa/
Last verified: 2026.08.06