Ninomiya Family Residence Workshop

A Small Workshop Under a Deep Eave

The Ninomiya Family Residence Workshop (二宮家住宅作業場, Ninomiya-ke Jūtaku Sagyōba) is a single-storey timber work shed built in 1919 on the Ninomiya estate in Hasuno, Seirō Town, Niigata Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2006. It has a tiled roof and a building area of 28 square metres.

It stands north-west of the Main House with its ridge running east to west, 3 and a half bays by 2 and a half. The south slope of its gabled pantile roof is carried down low to form a Tsuchibisashi eave one bay deep across the front. The walls leave the posts exposed, with vertical boards below and white Shikkui plaster above, and a doorway one and a half bays wide opens in the middle of the south side.

Next door to the west is the Miso Storehouse and Household Rice Storehouse of 1893. The two buildings' eaves run on into each other, giving them one continuous south front.

Why It Was Registered

The Ninomiya Family Residence Workshop was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. It is a small building, but as part of that continuous south front it shapes the working side of the estate.

Carrying the roof down into a deep eave is a simple way to win sheltered working space from rain and snow, a sensible solution on a farm in this snowy region. The wide doorway was made for people carrying tools and harvests in and out.

Built a quarter of a century after the storehouse beside it, the workshop was still aligned to its eave. Even an addition was made to fit the estate as a whole.

What to Look For

From the south, see how the lowered roof becomes a deep eave over the doorway, then follow it west as it runs straight on into the eave of the Miso Storehouse and Household Rice Storehouse.

The mix of vertical boards, white plaster and exposed posts looks lighter than the thick-walled storehouses. Try to spot where one building ends and the next begins from the change in roof height and finish.

Visiting

The interior of the Ninomiya Family Residence Workshop is not open. It stands north-west of the Main House, and how close the opening-season route comes varies from year to year.

The continuous eave is best seen from the south, with the neighbouring store in the same view. Follow the on-site guidance on photography.