A Painter's House of 1934, Moved Home
The Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence (旧小林古径邸) is a house of 1934 in Takada Castle Site Park, Honjo-cho, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on July 12, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It was moved here from Tokyo in 2001.
The Agency records a two-storey timber house with a tiled roof and a building area of 151 square metres; registration number 15-0184.
From Magome in Tokyo to the Painter's Hometown
The Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence was the home of Kobayashi Kokei, a painter in the Japanese style born in what is now Joetsu. According to Joetsu City, it was designed at Kokei's request by the architect Yoshida Isoya, built by Okamura Nisan, a master temple carpenter from Kyoto, and completed in 1934 at Magome in Ota Ward, Tokyo, as a house in the sukiya style.
The Tokyo house was dismantled in 1993, but the city bought its members and in 2001 re-erected it in Takada Castle Site Park in Kokei's home town (Joetsu City). Beside it stands a reconstruction of Kokei's studio, based on photographs and drawings.
Why It Was Registered
The Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence was registered as a model of form. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a remarkable modern house, the work of Yoshida Isoya and the sukiya carpenter Okamura Nisan.
A New, Lighter Japanese Style
The house is two-storey timber with a gabled (kirizuma) pantile roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Hidden iron reinforcement allowed the usual horizontal nageshi rails to be left out and the posts to be kept as slender as possible, in pursuit of a new Japanese style.
Inside the Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence, notice the clean wall lines without nageshi and the lightness of the thin posts.
Visiting
The Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence stands in the grounds of the Kobayashi Kokei Memorial Art Museum, which opened in 2020 (Niigata Tourism Navi). Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from December to March). It closes on Mondays (or the next day if Monday is a holiday), the day after public holidays, December 29 to January 3, and during exhibition changes.
Museum admission is 510 yen for adults and 260 yen for school students (Niigata Tourism Navi). It is a 15-minute walk from Takada Station on the Echigo Tokimeki Railway, or take a bus from the station to Takada Joshi Koen and walk about 5 minutes. Parking for 70 cars is shared with the city museum.
Q&A
- When was the Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence built?
- It was completed in Tokyo in 1934 and moved to Joetsu in 2001 (Joetsu City).
- Who designed the Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence?
- The architect Yoshida Isoya; it was built by the sukiya carpenter Okamura Nisan.
- What is special about its design?
- Hidden iron reinforcement lets it omit nageshi rails and use very slender members, a new Japanese style.
- Can I visit the Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence?
- Yes, in the grounds of the Kobayashi Kokei Memorial Art Museum, open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (shorter in winter), closed Mondays.
- When was the Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence registered?
- On July 12, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence (旧小林古径邸) |
|---|---|
| Location | 44-1 Echigo, Honjo-cho, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/07/12 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, two storeys, tiled roof, building area 151 square metres |
| Owner | Joetsu City |
| Public Access | Open within the grounds of the Kobayashi Kokei Memorial Art Museum |
References
- Former Kobayashi Kokei Residence (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004741
- Kobayashi Kokei Memorial Art Museum (Niigata Tourism Navi, Japanese)
- https://niigata-kankou.or.jp/spot/43331
- Opening of the Kobayashi Kokei Memorial Art Museum (Joetsu City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.joetsu.niigata.jp/uploaded/attachment/251974.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.14