Fukushige Family Residence Main House: Home of the Fukko Kiln Owners
The Fukushige Family Residence Main House (福重家住宅主屋, Fukushige-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a timber house built in 1928 on the grounds of the former Fukko porcelain works in Isekigo, Hasami-cho, Nagasaki Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on February 23, 2012.
The Fukushige family ran the Fukko works. Nagasaki Prefecture records that the business began in the Kyōhō era of the early 18th century and fired pottery in Nakao until the end of the Taishō period, before moving to this site in the early Shōwa years. The Fukushige Family Residence Main House was built in 1928, soon after the move. The people who now manage the site call it the Fukushige-tei and present it as the main house of the pottery.
With a building area of 406 m², it is the largest of the four buildings registered here. Nagasaki Prefecture lists it as privately owned, and it is still a family home.
Why the Fukushige House Was Registered
It is registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Fukushige Family Residence Main House as a well-built modern house in the Japanese style. Nagasaki Prefecture adds that its carefully chosen materials and largely unaltered early Shōwa condition give it real architectural value.
The factory sheds next door show how the ware was made; the Fukushige house shows how the family who owned the kilns lived. That pairing is why the prefecture presents all four buildings together as a kiln owner's house and factory.
Plan and Reception Rooms of the Fukushige Family Residence Main House
The house has a hipped-and-gabled roof (Irimoya-zukuri) of interlocking pantiles (Sangawara-buki), with lean-to roofs (Geya) on all four sides. It is single-storey with a partial 2nd floor. The formal entrance is in the middle of the east front, and a service entrance with an earthen-floored area opens on the north.
The north side holds a reception room, the earth-floored area and the kitchen. Living rooms fill the raised floor to the south and are wrapped by an Engawa veranda. On the east side a row of tatami reception rooms can be opened into one, and storerooms (Nando) line the west.
Nagasaki Prefecture describes the finest room in some detail. The inner reception room has a broad Tokonoma alcove with staggered shelves (Chigaidana) and a built-in writing desk (Tsukeshoin). The alcove post is tagayasan, a dense tropical hardwood prized for alcove posts, and a small low opening called a chinkuguri pierces the wall beside it. Above the partition to the middle room, the Ranma transom is carved in openwork with carp swimming in a pond.
Visiting the Fukushige Family Residence Main House
The Fukushige Family Residence Main House is a private home and is normally closed to the public; the site managers themselves note that there is usually no chance to see inside. When you walk the Nishinohara grounds, keep away from the residential area and do not peer through the windows.
The house is occasionally used as a venue. In October 2025 it opened for 3 days as the setting for an exhibition. If you hope to see the rooms, watch the Nishinohara news page for events, and check the photography rules at each one.
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Q&A
- Where is the Fukushige Family Residence Main House?
- The Fukushige Family Residence Main House stands within Nishinohara, the former Fukko porcelain works in Isekigo, Hasami-cho, Nagasaki Prefecture.
- When was the Fukushige Family Residence Main House built and registered?
- The Fukushige Family Residence Main House was built in 1928 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 23, 2012.
- Can visitors go inside the Fukushige Family Residence Main House?
- Usually not. The Fukushige Family Residence Main House is a private residence, but it sometimes opens for events, such as an exhibition held there in October 2025.
- What are the highlights inside the Fukushige Family Residence Main House?
- The inner reception room of the Fukushige Family Residence Main House has a tokonoma alcove, staggered shelves and a built-in desk, an alcove post of tagayasan wood, and a transom carved with carp in a pond.
- How is the Fukushige Family Residence Main House related to the Fukko Pottery Works?
- The Fukushige family owned and ran the Fukko works, and the Fukushige Family Residence Main House was their home. It was registered on the same day as the factory office and two workshops.
Basic Information
| Name | Fukushige Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 2186-2 Nishinomae, Isekigo, Hasami-cho, Higashisonogi-gun, Nagasaki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on February 23, 2012 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single-storey with a partial 2nd floor, tiled roof, building area 406 m² |
| Owner | Private individual (per Nagasaki Prefecture; not recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence; occasionally opened for events) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 福重家住宅主屋
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009240
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs): 福重家住宅主屋
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/243713
- Nagasaki Prefecture Cultural Properties Database: 福重家住宅主屋
- https://www.pref.nagasaki.jp/bunkadb/index.php/view/405
- Nishinohara: About Nishinohara (Japanese)
- https://24nohara.jp/about/
- Nishinohara: Event at the Fukushige residence (Japanese)
- https://24nohara.jp/info/2025/10/post-66.html
Last verified: 2026.10.02
