Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Lumber Shed

What the Lumber Shed Is

Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Lumber Shed stands at the north of the grounds at Imai in Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture, backed by the estate woodland; it is Meiji-era work and became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 14 October 1999.

This was the sawing floor. It is single-storey, roofed in sheet iron, with a footprint of 40 square metres. Horizontal tie beams run through the posts on the east, west and north sides, while the south front is spanned by one long girt and left entirely open.

It was built, by local account, as a workshop for the household's own construction. The open ground to the west served as an outdoor working yard, and the boards cut here went into the plank storehouse to the south-east.

Why It Was Registered

Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Lumber Shed was listed as contributing to the historic landscape, which means a working building entered the national register as part of the estate rather than on its own account.

Set out together, the eleven buildings cover three functions: receiving, storing and making. The house and the gates received guests, the storehouses held goods, and this shed produced material. The way the buildings are arranged shows how far a headman's household ran on its own resources.

What to Look For

Follow the girt across the south front. It is a single long horizontal member, and by carrying the load it removes the need for posts beneath, leaving the opening clear. A workshop handling long timber needed exactly that.

The tie beams on the other three sides do similar work. Driven through the posts, they brace the frame without any plastered wall, so Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Lumber Shed shows its structure from the outside.

Consider its position against the woodland behind. The trees take the wind from the north and the shed sits in their lee. Placing the working floor on the sheltered side is practical building sense rather than design.

Visiting

Imai Family Residence (Imai Okoyasumi Honjin) Lumber Shed stands at the north of the grounds, behind the plank storehouse. With the main house and that store in between, it is barely visible from the old Nakasendo.

The estate is a private residence; the grounds cannot be entered and the interiors are closed. Questions about access or any opening go to the cultural properties staff of the Okaya City Board of Education. (Checked in September 2026.)