What Is the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House?
The Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House (旧増岡家住宅主屋, Kyū Masuoka-ke Jūtaku Omoya) is the Machiya townhouse that a soy sauce brewing merchant built in 1903 in the old castle town of Uda-Matsuyama, in Ōuda-Nishiyama, Uda City, Nara Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 6, 2024. It is a 2-storey wooden building with a tiled roof and a building area of 170 square meters, renovated in 2017.
Of the four registered buildings on the Masuoka plot, the Main House is the only one that faces the street. It carries registration number 29-0358 and was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles it out as a townhouse that gives the street its historic character.
Lattices and Black Plaster on the Street Front
The Masuoka Main House has a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof with its ridge parallel to the street, a layout known as Hirairi, and is covered in Sangawara-buki interlocking tiles. From the road, the long eave line and the sweep of tiles run the full width of the house.
The ground floor of the facade is screened with wooden lattices. Above them, the upper floor opens through Mushiko-mado, small slatted windows set into walls finished in black plaster. The eaves are carried far out on projecting beams in the Degeta-zukuri manner. Lattice below, dark windows above, deep eaves on top: that layered front is what defines the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House from the street.
One source disagrees on the roof. Uda City's description calls it a partly hipped gable, while both the national database and the 2023 recommendation of the Council for Cultural Affairs describe a plain gable roof. This article follows the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
A Six-Room Plan and a Lowered Roof over the Earthen Floor
The ground floor of the Main House follows a regular Rokumadori plan, six rooms laid out in a neat grid. At the north end is a doma, an earthen-floored work area. The roof over this section is set one step lower than the rest and topped with a smoke vent, so the drop in the ridge line at the north end marks the doma from outside.
Upstairs there are six rooms, all with funazoko ceilings, which rise toward the center like the inverted hull of a boat, lending the upper rooms extra height. Nanone, the guesthouse that now uses the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House, gives upstairs rooms names such as the Sansui Room and the Stair Room.
Visiting the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House
The Main House is part of the Nanone guesthouse, and the interior is essentially open to overnight guests only. According to the guesthouse, guests who ask can be shown the upper floor. No arrangement for drop-in visits to the interior could be found.
The exterior can be seen from the public road, where the lattices, the mushiko-mado and the projecting eaves are all in view. The stepped-down roof at the north end is another detail worth looking for. As the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House is a working guesthouse, please stay off the property and photograph only from the road.
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Q&A
- When was the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House built?
- It was built in 1903 and renovated in 2017.
- Why is the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on March 6, 2024, as a townhouse that contributes to the historic landscape of the country by shaping the street in Uda-Matsuyama.
- What does the facade of the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House look like?
- Wooden lattices on the ground floor, black-plastered mushiko-mado windows above, and deep eaves carried on projecting beams.
- What is the upper floor of the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House like?
- It has six rooms, all with funazoko ceilings that rise toward the center like an upturned boat hull.
- Can I go inside the Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House?
- The building is part of the Nanone guesthouse, so the interior is mainly for overnight guests, who can ask to see the upper floor. The exterior can be viewed from the public road.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 91 Nishiyama, Ouda, Uda City, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered March 6, 2024 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 170 m² |
| Owner | Nature Core Science Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Operates as the Nanone guesthouse. Interior for overnight guests. Street front visible from the public road |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014905
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Masuoka Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/564785
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: list of recommended buildings, November 24, 2023 (PDF, in Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/pdf/93969901_03.pdf
- Uda City: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.uda.lg.jp/soshiki/41/1088.html
- Nanone (guesthouse in the Former Masuoka Family Residence, in Japanese)
- https://www.nanone.net/
- Nanone: Stay plans (in Japanese)
- https://www.nanone.net/info20240726_nanoneplan.html
Last verified: 2026.10.02
