A farmstead above Minami-Otari
Nakamura Family Residence (Otari) (中村家住宅, Nakamura-ke Jūtaku) is a farmstead in the Chikuni area of Otari Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture, whose main house from the end of the Edo period, built between 1830 and 1868, and storehouse of 1903 were registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 3, 2024.
The homestead sits on raised ground northeast of Minami-Otari Station on the JR Ōito Line. The main house faces west, and the storehouse stands beside it on the south, the two buildings side by side. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the house on its rise a local landmark and credits the pair with shaping the historic look of the settlement.
The main house has a Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof of Kayabuki thatch, currently protected by a temporary covering of sheet metal, with a raised smoke vent, or koshiyane, along the ridge. It is a large farmhouse that brought the earth-floored work area and a former stable, the maya, under the same roof, while the raised side holds a suite of formal rooms with an alcove and a built-in writing desk. The storehouse, built to keep household goods, has mortar walls scored to look like stone blocks, an exterior very much of the late Meiji years.
Dates and later work
For the main house, the Agency's database lists both the late Edo period and the early Meiji period, and it also records a renovation in 1992. Its construction is given as the range 1830 to 1868.
The storehouse was built in 1903 and altered around 1939 and again in the middle of the Shōwa era. It went up a generation or more after the house and reached its present form through those Shōwa-period repairs.
Both buildings were listed in the 108th round of registrations, as numbers 20-0665 and 20-0666, and both were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape.
Visiting
Nakamura Family Residence (Otari) is a private home. No public opening or visiting arrangement had been announced as of September 2026, and the grounds cannot be entered.
The nearest station is Minami-Otari on the JR Ōito Line, and the homestead stands on the high ground to the northeast of it. As the Agency's landmark description suggests, the house on its rise is noticeable within the settlement, but anyone passing should stay off private land and respect the privacy of the family. No parking information is published.
The address is Otsu 10490, Aza Yanase, Oaza Chikuni, Otari Village. Each building's structure and details are covered on its own page.
References
- Nakamura Family Residence Main House, Otari (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00015189
- Nakamura Family Residence Storehouse, Otari (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00015190
- Nakamura Family Residence Main House, Otari (Cultural Heritage Online)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/609533
Last verified: 2026.09.25
Basic Information
| Name | Nakamura Family Residence (Otari) |
|---|---|
| Location | Otsu 10490, Aza Yanase, Oaza Chikuni, Otari Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (2) |
| Coordinates | 36.77577, 137.90981 |
