The Detached Room at a Glance
The Nishida Family Residence Detached Room (西田家住宅離れ座敷, Nishida-ke Jūtaku Hanare Zashiki) is a small single-storey wooden pavilion of the early Showa period in Minoyamacho, Yamatokoriyama City, Nara Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 February 2004. It stands in the garden on the east side of the estate and has a building area of 13 square metres.
It measures 2 Ken square under a copper-clad irimoya hip-and-gable roof: the smallest living space on the estate, set apart from the main house among the plantings.
Why It Was Registered
The Nishida Family Residence Detached Room was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes its elegant, sukiya-style design as a deliberate contrast to the formal shoin manner of the main house.
The main house lines up formal rooms with alcoves, shelves and writing desks; the detached room is light and relaxed by comparison. The formal and the informal stand side by side on one property.
What to Look For
The Nishida Family Residence Detached Room is the only building on the site laid out on the Edo-ma module, in which dimensions are set out from the centre of one post to the centre of the next. In the Kansai region, layouts are generally said to start from the size of the tatami mat instead, so the choice sets this room apart from every other building on the estate.
There is a round window in the west wall. The ceiling is a batten ceiling with a difference: instead of running in parallel, the battens radiate from the centre of the room. Look up in a normal saobuchi ceiling and you see stripes; look up here and you see a star.
Seeing It for Yourself
The Nishida Family Residence Detached Room stands in the garden of a private home and is not open. The round window and radiating ceiling are known through the photographs and descriptions published by the Agency and on Cultural Heritage Online.
The east side of the plot is enclosed by the stone wall, so whether this small pavilion can be glimpsed from the road depends on where you stand and on the garden planting. Keep photography to the exterior from the public road.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Nara
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Nishida Family Residence Detached Room
- [ Todaiji Great Buddha & Nara Park Deer Experience ]
Q&A
- Can you visit the Nishida Family Residence Detached Room?
- No. The Nishida Family Residence Detached Room stands in the garden of a private home and the interior is not open.
- What is unusual about the ceiling of the Nishida Family Residence Detached Room?
- Its battens radiate outward from the centre of the room instead of running in parallel, a playful sukiya-style touch.
- What does Edo-ma mean at the Nishida Family Residence Detached Room?
- It is a way of laying out a room from post centre to post centre. The detached room is the only building at the Nishida Family Residence that uses it.
- How big is the Nishida Family Residence Detached Room?
- It is 2 ken square, single-storey, with a copper-clad hip-and-gable roof and a building area of 13 square metres. There is a round window in the west wall.
- When was the Nishida Family Residence Detached Room registered?
- On 17 February 2004, under registration number 29-0077.
Basic Information
| Name | Nishida Family Residence Detached Room |
|---|---|
| Location | 37-1, 2, 3 Minoyamacho, Yamatokoriyama City, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2004/02/17 (Heisei 16) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single storey, copper roof, building area 13 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior from the street) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Nishida Family Residence Detached Room
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003898
- Cultural Heritage Online: Nishida Family Residence Detached Room
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/139668
- Yamatokoriyama City: Registered Cultural Property No. 2, Nishida Family Residence
- https://www.city.yamatokoriyama.lg.jp/soshiki/machidukuri_senryaku/rekishi_bunkazai/bunkazai101/y_bunkazai/1839.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
