What Is the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex?
The Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex (旧増岡家住宅離れ, Kyū Masuoka-ke Jūtaku Hanare) is an early Showa-period (1926 to 1945) annex built behind the main house of a former soy sauce brewing merchant 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. The wooden building is partly 2 storeys, with a tiled roof and a building area of 39 square meters, and it was renovated in 2017.
Registered as number 29-0359, the Annex qualified for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to its open, glass-fronted exterior, which gives the middle of the Masuoka plot its character, and Uda City describes the building in much the same terms.
A Corridor Glazed Along the Whole South Side
The Masuoka Annex is a small building with a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki tiles, rising to a second storey over only part of its footprint. The ground floor on the south side is a corridor fitted with glass doors from end to end, so that from outside almost no solid wall shows. Among the storehouses and lattice-fronted rooms of the plot, this bright, open face is what sets the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex apart.
The glazing inside and out is frost glass, decorative panes whose surface carries a pattern resembling ice crystals. It lets the light through while blurring the view, so the long run of glass doors stays bright without laying the rooms open to sight.
Bathing Rooms Below, a Tatami Room Above
Behind the corridor, on the north side of the ground floor, are a six-mat room, a bathroom, a changing room and a toilet. With a living room and its own washing facilities under one roof, the Annex could be used independently of the Main House.
Upstairs is a single six-mat room with a Saobuchi-tenjō batten ceiling, a Nageshi rail running around the walls and an alcove. Small as it is, the upper room is finished as a proper reception room.
On its east side the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex connects by corridor to the Inner Storehouse, and that corridor doubles as the storehouse's Kuramae anteroom. The Agency for Cultural Affairs treats the Annex and the Inner Storehouse as a pair that together shape the center of the site.
Visiting the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex
The Annex belongs to the Nanone guesthouse, and the interior is essentially for overnight guests. The guesthouse describes its rooms as running from the Main House through the Annex to the storehouse. No arrangement for drop-in visits to the interior could be found.
Because the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex stands in the middle of the plot behind the Main House, it can hardly be seen from the public road. Expect to see its glazed south side only as a guest.
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Q&A
- When was the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex built?
- It dates from the early Showa period (1926 to 1945) and was renovated in 2017.
- Why is the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on March 6, 2024, for contributing to the historic landscape of the country, with its glass-fronted exterior shaping the center of the plot.
- What is special about the glass in the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex?
- The whole south side of the ground floor is a corridor of glass doors, glazed inside and out with frost glass patterned like ice crystals.
- What rooms are in the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex?
- Downstairs, a six-mat room, a bathroom, a changing room and a toilet; upstairs, a six-mat room with a batten ceiling, a nageshi rail and an alcove.
- Can visitors see the Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex?
- It is part of the Nanone guesthouse, so the interior is mainly for overnight guests, and it is hardly visible from the public road.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex |
|---|---|
| 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 (in part), tiled roof, building area 39 m² |
| Owner | Nature Core Science Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Operates as the Nanone guesthouse. Interior for overnight guests. Hardly visible from the public road |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014906
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Masuoka Family Residence Annex
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/594396
- Uda City: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.uda.lg.jp/soshiki/41/1088.html
- Nanone: Stay plans (in Japanese)
- https://www.nanone.net/info20240726_nanoneplan.html
Last verified: 2026.10.02
