Kokawa Family Residence

About the Kokawa Family Residence

The Kokawa Family Residence (粉川家住宅, Kokawa-ke Jūtaku) is a modern Japanese-style house built in 1923 in Takabatakecho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, whose six structures (main house, annex, storehouse, front gate, tsuiji wall and stone wall) were entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on March 7, 2008.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs places the house near the eastern edge of central Nara. All six structures date from 1923, and the Agency's note on the main house calls it a fine example of a modern Japanese-style residence, finished to a high standard inside and out. Its notes on the earthen wall and the stone wall add that both went up in the same campaign as the house and the leveling of the plot, so the Kokawa Family Residence was planned in one piece, from the ground itself to the gate, walls and buildings.

Six Structures of the Kokawa Family Residence

The six were entered in the 58th round of registration as nos. 29-0125 to 29-0130, with the official announcement following on March 19, 2008. The Agency's database records them as follows.

• Main house: single-storey timber, tiled roof, building area 290 m²
• Annex: single-storey timber, tiled roof, building area 51 m²
• Storehouse: 2-storey earth-walled storehouse, tiled roof, building area 38 m²
• Front gate: timber, tiled roof, frontage 2.4 m, with sleeve walls on both sides
• Tsuiji wall: earthen wall, tiled roof, 29 m long
• Stone wall: stone, 52 m long

Only the main house was registered as a model of design. The other five were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape. The split matches what you find on the ground at the Kokawa Family Residence: the main house carries the architecture, and the annex, storehouse, gate and walls form the setting around it.

Nara City's list of registered properties groups all six under the Nara Park and Takabatake area and dates every one of them to Taisho 12, or 1923.

How the Kokawa Estate Is Laid Out

Pieced together from the Agency's notes, the Kokawa Family Residence is laid out roughly like this. A stone wall runs along the south edge of the plot and wraps around both sides of a forecourt in front of the gate. The front gate stands about 6 m back from that edge, and to its east runs the annex, a gatehouse row. North of the annex and south of the main house's kitchen wing stands the storehouse.

The main house takes up the east half of the center of the plot, with a reception wing to the north, an entrance wing to the west and a kitchen wing to the south, arranged in a U. Along the east edge, the tsuiji wall runs about 30 m north from the southeast corner, closing off the southern half of the boundary with the neighboring lot.

The house was not simply set down on flat ground. The stone wall stands 2 to 3 m high, its courses following the slope of the road in front, with earth heaped behind it to form the plot. There is a drop to the eastern neighbor as well, and the base of the earthen wall doubles as a retaining wall. Raising the house above the road is what gives the Kokawa Family Residence its street presence. Each structure is described in more detail on its own page.

Visiting the Kokawa Family Residence

The Kokawa Family Residence is a private home, and no notice of public or special openings could be found (checked October 2026). The grounds cannot be entered, so a visit means looking at the exterior from the road. According to the Agency, the road on the south side meets the stone wall and the gate set back behind it, and the west face of the annex can be seen from the street. The main house and the storehouse stand inside the plot. There is no official guidance on photography, so avoid capturing the private home if you take pictures from the road.

From JR Nara Station (east exit, stop 2) or Kintetsu Nara Station (stop 1), take a Nara Kotsu bus such as the City Loop outer route and get off at Wariishicho. The house is about 200 m from the stop in a straight line, a few minutes' walk. On foot from Kintetsu Nara Station it is about 1.5 km to the southeast, a little over 20 minutes.