A separate building for guests
The Yusa Family Residence Hall (遊佐家住宅広間, Yusa-ke Jūtaku Hiroma) is an early Showa-period reception building on the Yusa farmstead in Ishinomori, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 March 2006.
It stands on the west side of the farmstead, just south of the main house. The hall is a single-storey timber building five bays long and three and a half deep, with a building area of 65 square metres, under a hipped Yosemune-zukuri roof whose original Kayabuki thatch is now covered with sheet iron.
Inside there is nothing but two ten-mat Zashiki, formal tatami rooms. No kitchen, no earthen floor: the Yusa Family Residence Hall exists only to receive guests, which is what hiroma, literally broad room, signals here.
Why it was registered
The hall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. It is one of the younger buildings on the site, yet its thatched hipped roof lines up with the main house and gives the west side of the farmstead a calm, continuous silhouette.
The main house, with its earthen floor, handled daily life and farm work; the Yusa Family Residence Hall contains only formal rooms. Taking the place for guests out of the main house and giving it a building of its own is what defines this hall.
Deep eaves and two alcoves
The eaves are the first thing to notice. All four sides are built in the segai style: short brackets project from the posts to carry the eave beam, and boards laid over them push the eaves further out, so the roof edge reads as a thick, crisp band.
A veranda runs along three sides. Of the two rooms, the southern one is the senior room and has a Tokonoma alcove, display shelves and a built-in writing bay, the Tsukeshoin; the northern room has an alcove and shelves but no writing bay. Reserving the tsukeshoin for the upper room is the classic way of marking rank in a formal interior.
From the hall's south side a covered passage runs to the plank storehouse, so the guest wing and the rice store are joined by a single corridor.
Visiting
The Yusa Family Residence Hall is on private property and no opening of the rooms has been announced. Photographs of the building are published in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database and on the Cultural Heritage Online portal.
Directions to the farmstead and the conditions that apply to the whole site are collected on the page for the farmstead as a group.
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Q&A
- What is the Yusa Family Residence Hall?
- A separate early Showa-period building for receiving guests, made up of two ten-mat tatami rooms. The southern room has an alcove, shelves and a writing bay; the northern room has an alcove and shelves.
- Is the roof of the Yusa Family Residence Hall thatched?
- The hipped roof is thatched, but the thatch is currently covered with sheet iron as a temporary roof. The eaves on all four sides are built in the segai style.
- Can visitors see inside the Yusa Family Residence Hall?
- It is on private property, and no public opening or viewing arrangement has been announced. Photographs are published in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database and on the Cultural Heritage Online portal.
- When was the Yusa Family Residence Hall registered?
- On 2 March 2006, together with the main house, the clay storehouse, the plank storehouse, the stable and the miso store on the same farmstead.
- Where does the Yusa Family Residence Hall stand on the farmstead?
- On the west side of the Yusa farmstead in Ishinomori, Tome, just south of the main house. A covered passage runs from its south side to the plank storehouse.
Basic Information
| Name | Yusa Family Residence Hall |
|---|---|
| Location | 121 Ishinomori, Nakada, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2006/3/2 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 5 by 3 and a half bays (ken), building area 65 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (no open days or viewing arrangement announced) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: 遊佐家住宅広間 (Yusa Family Residence Hall), Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005223
- List of Cultural Properties, Tome City Board of Education
- https://www.city.tome.miyagi.jp/bunkazai/kurashi/kosodate/kyoikuinkai/shakaikyoiku/bunkazai.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
