A Garden Wing Behind the Shopfront
A prosperous merchant's house on the Nakasendo showed one face to the highway and kept another for itself. Behind the working front of the Uedaya in Ochiai-juku, joined to the northeast corner of the main house, lies the hanare, a detached wing built to face the garden rather than the road. Where the storefront was about commerce and standing, this was about quiet.
The hanare is a single-story timber building with a basement, tiled and modest in size at about 41 square meters. Raised in the early Meiji era and refined again in the Taisho and late Showa years, it reads as a place for guests and for the family's own leisure, set apart from the noise of the highway.
Why It Was Registered
Registered in October 2014 alongside the main house and storehouse, the detached wing shares the same criterion, a building that contributes to the historic landscape. Its contribution has less to do with the street than with how a Nakasendo merchant family actually lived once the shop was closed for the day. Fumoto Kazuyoshi, in the official commentary, describes it as an elegant detached parlor.
The design turns the sloping ground to advantage. On the north side, a room called the shin-zashiki, or new parlor, sits on a raised floor that lifts the eye toward the garden. It is fitted with a toko alcove and an adjoining toko-waki, the formal features of a room meant for receiving guests. The northeast face opens up, wrapped by a veranda with a decorative railing. Below, on the north side of the basement, is a thick-walled cellar that served as a miso storehouse.
What to Look For
The wing is best understood as a room built around a view. The raised floor of the shin-zashiki was no whim; by lifting the room, the builders framed the garden as the thing you look at while seated on the tatami. The railed veranda along the open northeast side softens the line between room and garden.
Notice the double life of the building. Above is refinement: the alcove, the railing, the borrowed garden. Below, in the basement, is a working cellar with heavy walls where miso was stored, a reminder that even the family's retreat did the practical work of a household.
As with the rest of the Uedaya, the detached wing belongs to a private home and is not open to visitors. The garden and interior are not on public view, so the wing is best appreciated as part of the property's story rather than as a site to enter.
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Q&A
- What is a hanare?
- A hanare is a detached wing set apart from the main house, often for guests or quiet family use. This one was built to face the garden rather than the highway.
- Can I visit the detached wing or its garden?
- No. The wing is part of a private residence, and neither the interior nor the garden is open to the public.
- What is the shin-zashiki?
- It is the wing's north parlor, set on a raised floor to take in the garden and fitted with a formal alcove (toko) and adjoining toko-waki for receiving guests.
- Why is there a cellar beneath a parlor?
- The basement on the north side was a thick-walled miso storehouse. The wing combined a refined guest room above with a practical household cellar below.
- What can I see in the area?
- The wing stands with the Uedaya main house and storehouse in Ochiai-juku. Nearby, the honjin and the stone-paved old Nakasendo toward Magome are open to walkers; check honjin opening times first.
Basic Information
| Name | Uedaya Ueda Family Residence Detached Wing (Kami-no-Uedaya Ueda-ke Jutaku Hanare) |
|---|---|
| Location | 831 Ochiai, Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered October 7, 2014) |
| Registration No. | 21-0231 |
| Count | 1 building |
| Structure | Single-story timber with basement, tiled roof; building area approx. 41 m² |
| Period | Early Meiji (c. 1868–1882); modified Taisho and late Showa |
| Access | Private residence; interior and garden not open to the public |
References
- Kami-no-Uedaya Ueda Family Residence Detached Wing — Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/276903
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties — Detached Wing
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010150
- Ochiai-juku — Nakatsugawa Tourism Association
- https://nakatsugawa.town/spot/%E8%90%BD%E5%90%88%E5%AE%BF/
Last verified: 2026.07.11