What Is the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen?
The Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen (旧稲葉家別邸台所, Kyū Inaba-ke Bettei Daidokoro) is a two-storey timber kitchen building from around 1902 in Usuki City, Oita Prefecture, which handled the cooking and housework of the former Inaba lords' Usuki residence, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 8, 2008. It has a pantiled roof and a building area of 122 square meters, and was repaired in 1990.
The Kitchen stands just south of the Living Quarters under a hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) roof whose ridge runs north to south. In plan it is almost exactly square, 8.0 meters by 8.0 meters, and it is the only two-storey building among the villa's living spaces.
Open-Sided Eaves and White Plaster
Eaves (Hisashi) run around three sides of the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen, and on the east and south they are left open with no walls beneath. That covered strip becomes an outdoor workspace where water and firewood could be brought in dry. The walls are finished in white Shikkui plaster, a sensible skin for a building that held open fire.
The Daishoin and the Living Quarters turn verandas toward the garden. The Kitchen puts its working space on the outside instead. Built in the same year or so, the reception rooms and the service building still look quite different from the outside.
A Smoke Void over the Earthen Floor
Inside the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen, the southern part is a beaten-earth floor (Doma) and the northern half is raised, with part of the raised area laid as a boarded room with tatami. Over the eastern half of the doma the building is open all the way up, a double-height void. Elsewhere the ceiling is simply the exposed joists of the upper floor.
Usuki City's leaflet explains the void as a way of letting smoke from the cooking stoves (kamado) rise into the roof space. Smoked timber is generally held to resist insects. Look up and you can compare the dark roof structure over the void with the low joisted ceiling beside it.
Why the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen Was Registered
The Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen was registered as a building that serves as a model of design. What survives is a complete kitchen block for a former lord's household: square plan, two storeys and a smoke void over the working floor.
At the Former Inaba Family Villa the reception hall, the family wing and the kitchen each stand as a separate building linked by corridors. The Kitchen is the one that kept the household running behind the scenes.
Seeing the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen
The Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen is one of the buildings in the main block Usuki City opens as the Former Usuki Domain Lord Inaba Family Shimoyashiki, and it is included in admission. Stand on the earthen floor and look up into the void, then compare the step up to the raised floor and the lower joisted ceiling to see how the space was divided.
Outside, check the open eaves on the south and east and the plastered walls. We found no official statement on whether the upper floor can be visited, and no official guidance on photography (checked September 2026). Viewing is restricted on days the main block is hired out.
Q&A
- When was the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen built?
- Around 1902. It was repaired in 1990.
- What is the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen like?
- A two-storey timber building with a hip-and-gable, pantiled roof, 8.0 meters square in plan with a building area of 122 square meters. The south side is an earthen floor, the north half is raised, and the eastern half of the earthen floor is open to the roof.
- Why does the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen have a void over the earthen floor?
- Usuki City's leaflet says it let smoke from the cooking stoves rise and smoke the roof space.
- When did the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On July 8, 2008, registered as a building that serves as a model of design.
- Can I go inside the Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen?
- Yes, it is part of the main block of the Former Usuki Domain Lord Inaba Family Shimoyashiki and included in admission. There is no official statement on access to the upper floor.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen (旧稲葉家別邸台所) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6-6 Gionsu, Oaza Usuki, Usuki City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2008 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 122 m², 8.0 m × 8.0 m (two-storey timber) |
| Owner | Usuki City |
| Public Access | Open to the public (admission charged, as the Former Usuki Domain Lord Inaba Family Shimoyashiki) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007328
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Inaba Family Villa Kitchen
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/192050
- Usuki City: Former Usuki Domain Lord Inaba Family Shimoyashiki (Japanese)
- https://www.city.usuki.oita.jp/docs/2014013000108/
- Usuki City: Inaba Family Shimoyashiki leaflet (PDF, Japanese)
- https://usuki-kanko.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/inabakeshimoyashiki.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.29
