What the Bathhouse and Bath Room Are
The Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Bathhouse and Bath Room (帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）湯殿及び風呂) form a mid-Meiji bathing block in Hetsugi Honmachi, Nakahetsugi, Oita City, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005. The block stands west of the main house, beyond its kitchen. It is a single-story timber structure roofed in pantiles, with a building area of 12 square metres.
Two small units touch. The yudono, the washing room, runs north to south, 1 and a half by 1 bays; the furo, the bath room, runs east to west, 2 by 1 bays. Together their roofs show hipped and hip-and-gable ends on both sides. The joints of the eave tiles are pointed with white Shikkui plaster.
Twelve square metres is about seven tatami mats of floor. Even so, the builders turned the two rooms at right angles and gave them different roof forms.
Why It Was Listed
The Hoashi Family Branch Residence Bathhouse and Bath Room were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape.
Meiji houses often put the bath in a separate building, away from the living rooms, since it involved fire and steam. Here the bathing block sits west of the kitchen, and the well house sits west of the bath. Well, bath and kitchen line up east to west, so water was drawn and used within a few steps.
The ACA records do not explain why washing room and bath were built as distinct units. What the plan shows is care: two rooms set at an angle under two kinds of roof, a bathhouse designed to match the standing of the household rather than a simple shed.
What to Look For
The roofs are the thing to see. Where the north to south washing room meets the east to west bath room, hipped and hip-and-gable forms appear side by side on a very small building, echoing the Irimoya-zukuri roof of the main house.
Look along the eaves for the white plaster in the tile joints. It seals out wind and rain, and it also sharpens the eave line with a thin bright stripe.
Note the well house immediately to the west. With the well next door, the carry from well to boiler was as short as it could be.
Visiting
The Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Bathhouse and Bath Room are not open to the public (checked 25 September 2026). They stand west of the main house, deep in the plot, and cannot be seen from the eastern street.
This is part of the living quarters of a private home. Please do not try to look in from outside the property.
Directions to the site as a whole are on the Hoashi Family Branch Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Oita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Bathhouse and Bath Room
- [ Beppu Hell Tour & Yufuin Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- What are the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Bathhouse and Bath Room?
- A mid-Meiji single-story bathing block west of the main house's kitchen, made of two adjoining units with a combined building area of 12 square metres.
- How big are the rooms of the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Bathhouse and Bath Room?
- The washing room runs north to south at 1 and a half by 1 bays; the bath room runs east to west at 2 by 1 bays.
- What is special about the roof of the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Bathhouse and Bath Room?
- The two units show hipped and hip-and-gable ends on both sides, all in pantiles, with white plaster pointing in the eave tile joints.
- How do the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Bathhouse and Bath Room relate to the well house?
- The well house stands immediately to the west, so kitchen, bath and well line up east to west.
- Can you see the Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Bathhouse and Bath Room?
- They are not open to the public and are hidden from the eastern street by the main house.
Basic Information
| Name | Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Bathhouse and Bath Room (帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）湯殿及び風呂) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4361 Oaza Nakahetsugi, Oita City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 44-0107 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single-story, tiled roof, building area 12 square metres; bathhouse 1 and a half by 1 bays, bath room 2 by 1 bays |
| Owner | Not listed in the ACA database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; set deep in the plot and not visible from the road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）湯殿及び風呂
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005062
- Cultural Heritage Online: 帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）湯殿及び風呂
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/170372
- Oita City: History and Culture of Hetsugi Honmachi (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.oita.oita.jp/o204/machizukuri/toshi/1014449890810.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
