A Spiral of Rooms under Radiating Rafters
The Ushitani Family Residence Main House (牛谷家住宅主屋) is a post-war house designed by the Sakakura Junzo architectural office of 1968 in Haibara Hagiwara, Uda City, Nara Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on December 3, 2024 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey timber house over a reinforced-concrete basement, with an asphalt-shingle roof and a building area of 75 square metres; registration number 29-0363.
Radiating Rafters and Rooms Set Clockwise
The main house of the Ushitani family stands on a slope north of Kintetsu Haibara Station and was designed by the Sakakura Junzo architectural office (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its plan is square, with the rooms arranged clockwise at slightly different floor levels.
The radiating rafters are exposed inside, and the deep-eaved roof has dormer windows (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered the house as a model of design.
What to Look For
Look for the radiating rafters exposed inside and the dormers in the deep-eaved roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The owner is not given in the Agency record. No official information on public access was found.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1968 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Who designed it?
- The Sakakura Junzo architectural office.
- What is unusual about the plan?
- Rooms set clockwise at different levels in a square plan.
- How is the name read?
- Ushitani-ke jutaku omoya.
- When was the Ushitani Family Residence Main House registered?
- On December 3, 2024 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Ushitani Family Residence Main House (牛谷家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1719 Haibara Hagiwara, Uda City, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2024/12/03 (Reiwa 6) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber over an RC basement, asphalt shingles, 75 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | No official access information |
References
- Ushitani Family Residence Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00015212
Last verified: 2026.10.23