A Workshop for Rice, Built in 1953
The Former Ito Family Residence Workshop (旧伊藤家住宅作業場) is a farm workshop of 1953 in Kurokawa, Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on December 5, 2019 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Rice was sorted and baled here on the estate of the Itos, a family of village headmen.
The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 125 square metres; registration number 15-0519.
Where Rice Was Sorted and Baled
The Former Ito Family Residence Workshop stands near the middle of the south side of the site, its ridge running east to west (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is a two-storey timber building with a gabled tile roof and a lean-to roofed in sheet iron on the south side. The walls show their timber frame, Shinkabe style, with a smooth second coat of clay plaster above board-clad lower walls, and glazed windows on every side.
The ground floor, an earth-floored Doma, held farm tools and rice; upstairs, rice was sorted and straw bales were made (Agency for Cultural Affairs). At 125 square metres, it is the largest of the three registered buildings.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency sees it as a record of the layout of a wealthy farming estate, and registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape. Built in 1953, it is the newest of the three, but it keeps the place where the rice was handled alongside the storehouses that held it.
What to Look For
Compare the Former Ito Family Residence Workshop with the plastered storehouses beside it. Exposed framing, board-clad lower walls and glazed windows on every side (Agency for Cultural Affairs) give it the look of a building made for working in daylight.
Visiting
The Former Ito Family Residence Workshop belongs to Tainai City, but no official information on interior access or photography was found. The city's heritage plan of March 2025 lists works to make the three buildings usable among its future measures. The western half of the plot is owned by the Ito family (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Q&A
- When was the Former Ito Family Residence Workshop built?
- In 1953 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What was the Former Ito Family Residence Workshop used for?
- Farm tools and rice were kept on the earth-floored ground floor, and rice was sorted and baled upstairs (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How does the Former Ito Family Residence Workshop differ from the storehouses?
- It is timber-framed with exposed posts, board-clad lower walls and glazed windows on every side, rather than thick plastered walls.
- Can I visit the Former Ito Family Residence Workshop?
- No official information on interior access was found.
- When was the Former Ito Family Residence Workshop registered?
- On December 5, 2019 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Ito Family Residence Workshop (旧伊藤家住宅作業場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1432-2 Kamimachi Kurokawa, Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture, and other locations |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2019/12/05 (Reiwa 1) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber, tiled roof, 125 m² |
| Owner | Tainai City |
| Public Access | No official information on regular opening (city-owned, works planned) |
References
- Former Ito Family Residence Workshop (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013078
- Former Ito Family Residence Workshop (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/380144
- Report on registered tangible cultural properties (structures), July 19, 2019 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/91972801_01.pdf
- Tainai City Plan for the Preservation and Use of Cultural Properties, March 2025 (Tainai City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.tainai.niigata.jp/kurashi/kyoiku/bunkazai/documents/chiikikeikakuhonbunkanzenban.pdf
Last verified: 2026.11.09
