Nakamura Family Residence Barn

The Nakamura Family Residence Barn

The Nakamura Family Residence Barn (中村家住宅納屋, Nakamura-ke Jūtaku Naya) in Misato Yutaka, Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, is a farm outbuilding built in 1887 and used for silkworm rearing and rice polishing, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 27, 2006.

It stands close to the northern boundary of the Nakamura plot. The barn measures 6 and a half ken by 2 and a half ken, with a building area of 54 square meters, and is a single-story timber building under a gabled pantile roof. Long and narrow, it lines up along the north edge of the homestead.

Why it was registered

The Nakamura Family Residence Barn was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as an example of a barn designed with fire protection in mind, a concern of the modern era.

Although the frame is timber, only the south side has an open eave. The other three walls and the eave soffits are sealed in clay plaster. Outbuildings were often left in bare boards; treating a working barn almost like a storehouse shows how seriously a Meiji farming household took the risk of fire.

What to look for

Inside, the Nakamura Family Residence Barn is divided into three rooms. The partitions are made by dropping boards into grooves between the posts, one on top of another, a method that lets each room be closed off to suit its use.

Silk was a vital cash crop for Nagano farmers in the Meiji period, and rearing silkworms called for floor space and ventilation. Rice polishing went on in the same building. The three-room plan suggests the family gave each task a room of its own under one roof.

The single open eave faces south, most likely to give a sunny, sheltered place to work. Since the barn runs along the northern boundary, that south side looks back into the inner yard of the homestead.

Visiting

The Nakamura Family Residence Barn is an outbuilding of a private home at the back of the property. It is not open, the grounds cannot be entered, and no viewing contact is published (checked September 2026).

The location of the homestead and general notes for visitors are on the Nakamura Family Residence (Azumino) page.