What the Kodama Family Residence Stable Is
The Kodama Family Residence Stable is a single-storey timber stable of the early Showa era in the Wa district of Tomi City, Nagano Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2000 under the number 20-0080.
It is not a free-standing building. A lean-to of 2 bays by 4 projects from the east gable of the silkworm rearing house, and that projection is the stable, with a building area of 20 square metres, the smallest of the 12 registered structures.
It is also the only one not built in the Meiji era. The compound held its completion ceremony in 1910; the stable was added after that, in the Showa years.
Why It Was Registered
The listing criterion is contribution to the historic landscape. Its east and north walls are of closed plastered construction, facing the fields and bamboo grove behind, and its southeast corner meets the roofed earthen wall that runs to the east gate. It was registered as part of the outline the compound presents at the rear.
The national register records that this was a stable for riding horses and that, plain as it is, it shows the prosperity of the branch household. A horse kept for riding rather than for fields or carting says something specific about how this family lived.
What to Look For
Check first that the building does not stand alone. The roof comes down from the rearing house and stops low over the stable, the mark of a small Showa-era addition leaning on an older frame.
The east and north faces are closed walls with the posts plastered over. Turning a blank surface toward the fields tightens the boundary at the back of the compound, so the building has one face for the household and another for the landscape.
The southeast corner is worth a look too, where stable, earthen wall and east gate run together and narrow the way into the back garden.
Visiting the Kodama Family Residence Stable
The stable lies deep inside the compound on the east side of the silkworm rearing house. The interior is closed, and the exterior is seen on the guided walk offered on café opening days.
It is small and attached, so it is easy to miss from a distance; look for the low roof projecting from the east gable of the rearing house. Ask before photographing.
Directions and viewing conditions for the compound are on the Kodama Family Residence page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kodama Family Residence Stable
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Q&A
- When was the Kodama Family Residence Stable built?
- The national register gives the early Showa era, making it the only one of the 12 structures that is not from the Meiji period.
- How big is the Kodama Family Residence Stable?
- It measures 2 bays by 4 with a building area of 20 square metres, the smallest structure in the compound.
- Where is the Kodama Family Residence Stable?
- It is the lean-to projecting from the east gable of the silkworm rearing house rather than a separate building.
- What kind of horse was kept here?
- The national register describes it as a stable for riding horses, and reads it as a sign of the branch household's prosperity.
- Can visitors see the stable?
- The interior is closed. Guided viewing on café opening days brings you to the outside of it.
Basic Information
| Name | Kodama Family Residence Stable |
|---|---|
| Location | 7785 Oaza Wa, Tomi City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2000 (Heisei 12) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber frame, tile roof, building area 20 square metres |
| Owner | Yamatama Limited Company |
| Public Access | Inside a private compound; interior closed, seen on guided viewing |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Kodama Family Residence Stable
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001819
- Tomi City: Kodama Family Residence
- https://www.city.tomi.nagano.jp/category/kenzobutsu/160195.html
Last verified: 2026.09.17
