The house at the heart of the Baba farmstead
The Yusa Family Residence Main House (遊佐家住宅主屋, Yusa-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a farmhouse in the Baba district of Naruko Onsen, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, built between 1877 and 1886 and entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 11 December 1998.
It is the principal building among six registered together on this farmstead, the others being a plank storehouse, a bathhouse, a miso room, a materials shed and a stone cellar. The house is a single-storey timber building with a building area of 207 square metres, by far the largest of the six.
Two other buildings in Miyagi are registered under exactly the same name: one in the Yōgai district of Naruko Onsen and one in Ishinomori, Tome City. Both are separate entries.
Why it was registered: horses under the same roof
The Yusa Family Residence Main House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it is a large farmhouse that keeps a traditional four-room plan (yomadori) with the stable built inside the house, a layout called uchi-umaya.
A broad earthen-floored Doma with a stable opening off it, the Agency notes, is a feature shared by farmhouses in this district, which was once a horse-breeding area. A plan in which people and horses lived under one roof, preserved in a Meiji building, is the core of its value.
A new roof over an old plan
The Agency's description says the roof was originally a thatched hipped roof in the Yosemune-zukuri style. In recent years it was rebuilt in the Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable form and covered in copper sheet, and the stable and the kitchen and bathroom areas were remodelled while the traditional room layout was kept.
The same database's structure field, however, describes the roof as tiled, which does not match the copper sheet mentioned in the description. Published sources alone cannot settle which reflects the building today.
Whatever the roofing, the four rooms, the doma and the stable remain in their places. The Yusa Family Residence Main House is a good example of a family remodelling a house to go on living in it without giving up its old plan.
Visiting
The house is a private home and no interior opening or viewing arrangement 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
- When was the Yusa Family Residence Main House in Naruko Onsen Baba built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to between 1877 and 1886. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 11 December 1998.
- What is special about the plan of the Yusa Family Residence Main House in Naruko Onsen Baba?
- It keeps a traditional four-room plan with the stable inside the house. A broad earthen floor with a stable is described by the Agency as typical of this former horse-breeding district.
- Is the Yusa Family Residence Main House in Naruko Onsen Baba thatched?
- It was originally thatched with a hipped roof but has been rebuilt with a hip-and-gable roof. The Agency's description says copper sheet, while its structure field says tiles.
- Can I visit the Yusa Family Residence Main House in Naruko Onsen Baba?
- It is a private home and no public opening or viewing arrangement has been announced.
- Are there two Yusa Family Residence Main Houses in Naruko Onsen?
- Yes. The Baba house was registered in 1998 and the Yōgai house in 1997; they are separate registered properties.
Basic Information
| Name | Yusa Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 102 Baba, Naruko Onsen, Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1998/12/11 (Heisei 10) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 207 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: 遊佐家住宅主屋 (Yusa Family Residence Main House), Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000925
- Cultural Heritage Online: 遊佐家住宅主屋
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/147535
- Nationally Registered Cultural Properties, Osaki City
- https://www.city.osaki.miyagi.jp/shisei/soshikikarasagasu/kyoikuiinkaijimukyoku/bunkazaika/4/3402.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
