Matsuyama Family Residence Connecting Corridor

About the Matsuyama Family Residence Connecting Corridor

The Matsuyama Family Residence Connecting Corridor (松山家住宅渡廊下, Matsuyama-ke Jūtaku Watari-rōka) is a single-storey timber corridor building of the early Showa period (1926 to 1945) in Nishinoshinyacho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on November 17, 2015.

It runs back from the rear of the main house north wing, built by the Matsuyama family of rice wholesalers, toward the depths of the plot. The north side is an open corridor facing the inner courtyard, and the south side holds a bathroom and a toilet. It links the main houses at the front with the barley and rice storehouses at the back.

A Corridor without Posts

The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable in Sangawara-buki pantiles, and the building area is 26 m². Along the courtyard side runs a board-floored walkway, left open and fitted with a handrail.

The thing to notice is that not a single post stands on the courtyard side. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the round log beam that carries the corridor's Taruki rafters, 6 m long, is not propped on posts but hung from the eaves. With nothing standing beneath it, the view from the corridor into the courtyard is unbroken, and the 6 m log seems to float along the edge of the roof.

The bathroom and toilet on the south side have Mairado sliding doors with fine horizontal slats and Shitaji-mado windows that expose the lath of the wall. Nara City calls it an elegant building, pointing to the yellow walls, the lath windows and the carefully designed handrail. Although it houses the plumbing, it was clearly made to be seen from the courtyard.

Why the Connecting Corridor Was Registered

The Matsuyama Family Residence Connecting Corridor was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency's reason is that it shows the character of a Naramachi townhouse courtyard particularly well, and Nara City adds that the corridor and the barley storehouse together frame a traditional Nara courtyard. A corridor wraps behind the main house and storehouses stand beyond it; of the buildings that enclose this courtyard, the corridor forms one whole side.

Visiting the Connecting Corridor

There are no heritage opening days, and the Matsuyama Family Residence Connecting Corridor cannot be seen from the street. The tearoom Sabo Nonnon operates inside the main house north wing, and Nara Prefecture's tourism site, Naraiko, says the courtyard and veranda can be enjoyed from its seats (checked October 2026). How much of the corridor is visible across the courtyard, and whether visitors may step onto it, could not be confirmed. Assume the bathroom and toilet are not open.

There is no official guidance on photography; inside, follow the tearoom's rules. Directions to the estate are on the Matsuyama Family Residence page.