What Is the Araki Family Residence Main House?
The Araki Family Residence Main House (荒木家住宅主屋, Araki-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a two-story timber Machiya townhouse built in 1922 facing east onto a street of the former castle town of Mori in Kusu Town, Oita Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 26, 2015. It has a tiled roof and a building area of 235 square meters.
Of the three buildings registered together at the Araki Family Residence, the Araki Family Residence Main House is the only one that meets the street; the sake storehouse and the kitchen storehouse stand behind it. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records renovations around 1975 and in 2007.
Why the Araki Main House Was Registered
The Araki Family Residence Main House was registered, as number 44-0206, for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency's short assessment rests on two points: the high quality of both the timber and the workmanship, and the way this modern building brings color to the streets of the old castle town.
In other words, the value lies mainly in the facade. A two-story townhouse from the last years of the Taishō era (1912 to 1926) still turns its full street front to Mori, and after two rounds of renovation the projecting eaves and the plastered upper floor remain what gives the facade its character.
What to Look For
Projecting eaves on both floors
Both stories of the Araki main house are built in the Degeta-zukuri manner: short cantilevered brackets project from the posts to carry an outer beam, which lets the eaves reach well out over the street. The row of brackets under each eave throws a band of shadow across the facade. On the upper floor the walls are covered in Shikkui lime plaster right up to the eave line, so no timber shows between the two sets of eaves.
A little gabled shrine on the roof
Look up at the north end of the roof. Here the Araki Family Residence Main House carries a small room with a curved Noki-karahafu gable, and inside it sits a figure of Hotei, the pot-bellied god of contentment and good fortune. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out this rooftop room in its description of the exterior.
Shop at the front, through-passage to the back
Inside, a wide earth-floored Doma passage runs from front to back along the north side of the ground floor. The south side of the street front is the mise, the shop room, and behind it lie four rooms, with the main reception room, the omo-zashiki, in the southwest corner at the back. Business and household thus shared one roof, with the passage leading from the street into the depths of the house.
Visiting the Araki Family Residence Main House
The interior of the Araki Family Residence Main House is not open to the public. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database lists no owner, and no public or special openings could be found, so the earth-floored passage and the reception rooms cannot be seen.
The exterior can be viewed from the street. The layered eaves read best from a slight angle rather than straight on, and the rooftop room with its Hotei figure is easiest to spot when looking up from the northern part of the street. Take photographs only from the public road, and keep clear of residents and passing traffic.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Araki Family Residence Main House
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Q&A
- When was the Araki Family Residence Main House built and registered?
- The Araki Family Residence Main House was built in 1922 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 26, 2015. It was renovated around 1975 and again in 2007.
- Can visitors go inside the Araki Family Residence Main House?
- No. The interior of the Araki Family Residence Main House is not open, and no public or special openings could be found. The street front can be seen from the road.
- What is the small structure on the roof of the Araki Family Residence Main House?
- It is a small room with a curved karahafu gable at the north end of the roof of the Araki Family Residence Main House, and it holds a figure of Hotei.
- What does degeta-zukuri mean on the Araki Family Residence Main House?
- Degeta-zukuri is a way of carrying deep eaves on cantilevered brackets. The Araki Family Residence Main House uses it on both floors, and its upper story is plastered right up to the eaves.
- How is the Araki Family Residence Main House laid out inside?
- The ground floor of the Araki Family Residence Main House has a wide earth-floored passage on the north side, a shop room at the south front, and four rooms behind, with the main reception room at the back on the south side.
Basic Information
| Name | Araki Family Residence Main House (荒木家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 938 Mori and other lots, Kusu Town, Kusu District, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered March 26, 2015 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-story timber building, tiled roof, building area 235 m² |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Interior closed; exterior visible from the street |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Araki Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010537
- Cultural Heritage Online: Araki Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/274706
- Kusu Town: Cultural Properties of Kusu Town (Japanese)
- https://www.town.kusu.oita.jp/soshiki/shakaikyoikuka/2/5/bunkazai/936.html
Last verified: 2026.10.06
