A Chimney Built for the Bath
Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney is a brick chimney of 1924 in Kamimiyanaga, Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2001.
It stands in the narrow gap between the projecting west side of the living quarters and the east storehouse. The plan is a square of about 0.9 metres a side. The walls are slag brick, rising straight from the footing and tapering gradually towards the top.
Its job was specific. Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney served the bathhouse of the living quarters. Not a factory flue, not a heating stack, but the outlet for the fire that heated water for the family, and it was built in brick for that single purpose.
Why It Was Registered
Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney is registered as difficult to reproduce, one of the 4 entries in that category with the east storehouse, the west storehouse and the water tower. Brick is common to all of them.
Brick chimneys built for a domestic bathhouse have almost entirely gone. Once fuel shifted from firewood to gas and electricity the chimney became redundant, and unreinforced brick stacks are routinely taken down as an earthquake risk. A redundant piece of plant still standing is itself the rare thing.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs presents it as a clue to how people actually lived in the modern period. Set the water tower beside it and the pairing makes sense: one structure handled water, the other handled fire, and both survive.
What to Look For
The point of interest in the shape of Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney is the taper. The section narrows steadily from footing to top. Lightening the upper part lowers the centre of gravity and buys stability against wind and earthquake, which is standard practice for anything built by stacking brick. At a section of only about 0.9 metres a side the logic still applies.
The record also notes that it rises straight from the footing. There is no plinth, no set back, no moment where the profile steps. It begins at ground level in the same section it carries up, which is exactly how a piece of equipment rather than a monument gets built.
The material is slag brick, shared with the storage shed and the water tower. It reads darker than clay brick and often shows fine bubbles or mottling on the surface.
The position deserves a thought too. Wedged between a projection of the living quarters and the east storehouse, it sits in one of the tightest gaps anywhere on the estate. Being close to the bathhouse mattered more than anything else.
Heights differ between sources. The structural field of the Agency for Cultural Affairs record gives 5.0 metres, while the description on the same page says about 4 metres and the Nakatsu City list agrees with it, giving about 0.9 metres a side and about 4 metres in height. The table below follows the structural field.
Visiting
Standing inside the estate between two buildings, Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney is the hardest of the 15 entries to find from the road. The best you can hope for is a position on the north side where a thin brick shaft shows past the roof of the east storehouse.
It is easy to confuse with the water tower, so judge by proportion. The water tower is about 1.3 metres a side, the chimney about 0.9, and the chimney is visibly the slimmer of the two. The tower carries a rendered section near the top for its tank; the chimney stays brick all the way up and narrows as it goes.
The grounds cannot be entered and there is no way to examine the base. Sightlines are better once the leaves have fallen.
Photograph from the road only. Directions and visiting conditions are on the Hisatsune Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Oita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney
- [ Beppu Hell Tour & Yufuin Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- What was Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney for?
- The bathhouse of the living quarters. It carried away smoke from the fire that heated water for the family, rather than serving any industrial or heating purpose.
- How tall and how wide is Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney?
- The plan is a square of about 0.9 metres a side. On height the sources differ: the structural field of the Agency for Cultural Affairs record gives 5.0 metres, while the description on the same page and the Nakatsu City list both say about 4 metres.
- Why does Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney taper?
- Narrowing the section towards the top lowers the centre of gravity and improves stability against wind and earthquake. It is standard practice for stacked brick construction.
- How do I tell Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney from the water tower?
- By width and by the top. The tower is about 1.3 metres a side with a rendered section near the top; the chimney is about 0.9 metres a side and stays brick all the way up.
- Can Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney be visited?
- It stands between two buildings inside the grounds and is the hardest entry to see from the road. The site cannot be entered and the base is out of reach.
Basic Information
| Name | Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-1 Kamimiyanaga, Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 28 August 2001 (Heisei 13) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Brick, height 5.0 metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; exterior viewing from public roads only |
References
- National Designated Cultural Properties Database, Hisatsune Family Residence Chimney (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002338
- Cultural Properties of Nakatsu City (Nakatsu City)
- https://www.city-nakatsu.jp/doc/2024101700025/
- List of Nationally Designated and Selected Cultural Properties (Oita Prefecture)
- https://www.pref.oita.jp/kyoiku/tmp/bunka/post-101/1.pdf
- List of Designated and Registered Cultural Properties, as of 1 August 2024 (Nakatsu City Board of Education)
- https://www.city-nakatsu.jp/doc/2024101700025/file_contents/shiteibunkazai.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.14
