Horii Family Residence Main House

A House of 1932 Facing Mount Miwa

The Horii Family Residence Main House (堀井家住宅主屋) is the main house of a family estate of 1932 in Anashi, Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 2, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a timber house of 2 storeys with a tiled roof and a building area of 223 square metres; registration number 29-0083.

A House Turned toward Mount Miwa

The Horii Family Residence Main House faces east, toward Mount Miwa (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is a 2-storey timber house under a gabled roof of interlocking pantiles, with lean-to roofs added along the front and the back.

Inside, the south half is an earth-floored work area and the north half holds the living rooms (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Against the south gable stands the late Edo milling shed, and from the north gable a corridor leads to the detached room of the same period, so the 1932 house was built between two older buildings.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency singles out the quality of the timber, carefully finished and tightly jointed, and the way a traditional plan absorbs modern habits such as generous use of glazed doors. It was registered as a model of design.

What to Look For

The house keeps the outline of a traditional gabled farmhouse yet uses glazed doors freely, the clearest sign of its early Showa date (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The lean-to roofs front and back help in reading how the roof is put together.

It is worth placing the house within the estate: the detached room lies to the north, the milling shed to the south, and the 1932 nagayamon gate opens on the east, in front of the house.

Visiting

The main house stands at the centre of the estate, and no official information on interior access was found. Its east front lies inside the gate and wall, and how much of it can be seen from outside has not been confirmed.