What the Rear Two-Story Wing Is
The Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Rear Two-Story Wing (帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）裏二階, ura-nikai) is a mid-Meiji 2-story wooden building in Hetsugi Honmachi, Nakahetsugi, Oita City, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005. It stands in the southwest corner of the property, 3 and a half bays by 2, with a building area of 57 square metres.
Joined to its western end at a right angle is a back-gate block, 3 and a half bays by 3. The rear wing itself has a Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof at its east end; the back-gate block has a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof. Both are 2-story timber buildings roofed in pantiles. At the centre of the back-gate block is a double-leaf door opening 1 bay wide.
If the main house is the compound's face to the street, this wing is its back door. The ACA records do not say what the building was used for, but a 2-story block wrapped around a rear gate says a good deal on its own.
Why It Was Listed
The Hoashi Family Branch Residence Rear Two-Story Wing was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.
A merchant compound met the outside world in two places: at the front through shop and gate, at the back through a rear gate. The back gate handled deliveries, servants and the daily traffic of a working household. Here it was not left as a freestanding gate but built into a 2-story block.
Setting two blocks at right angles, with a hipped roof on one and a gable on the other, gives the corner a solid, deliberate form. The southwest corner is the point farthest from the main house on the eastern street, so the compound's front and back entrances sit at opposite corners of the plot.
What to Look For
The two roofs meet in an L. The hipped roof of the rear wing and the gabled roof of the back-gate block join at the corner, and the change of form is easy to trace along the ridge lines.
The double doors of the back gate open 1 bay wide, a width that suggests carts and bulky loads. A passage that runs through a 2-story building is also harder to force than a gate standing alone.
Both roofs are pantiled, matching the main house and the storehouses. If you get a view from outside, following where the tile ridges turn is the quickest way to understand how the two blocks fit together.
Visiting
The Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Rear Two-Story Wing is not open to the public (checked 25 September 2026). It stands in the southwest corner, where the main house and wall block the view from the eastern street.
Since the back gate opens outward, there is presumably a lane or path behind the property, but we could not confirm whether the building can be seen from it. This is the back entrance of a private home; if you pass by, do not block the gate.
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) Rear Two-Story Wing
- [ Beppu Hell Tour & Yufuin Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- What is the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Rear Two-Story Wing?
- A mid-Meiji 2-story wooden building in the southwest corner of the property, 3 and a half by 2 bays, with a back-gate block joined at a right angle to its western end.
- What is the back gate of the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Rear Two-Story Wing like?
- A gabled 2-story block of 3 and a half by 3 bays with double doors 1 bay wide at its centre.
- What roofs does the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Rear Two-Story Wing have?
- A hipped roof on the east part of the rear wing and a gabled roof on the back-gate block, both in pantiles, meeting at a right angle.
- What was the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Rear Two-Story Wing used for?
- The ACA records do not say. Its combination with the back gate suggests it guarded and served the rear entrance of the compound.
- Can you see the Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Rear Two-Story Wing?
- It is not open to the public and is hard to see from the eastern street, since it stands in the southwest corner of the plot.
Basic Information
| Name | Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Rear Two-Story Wing (帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）裏二階) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4361 Oaza Nakahetsugi, Oita City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 44-0111 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 stories, tiled roof, building area 57 square metres; 3 and a half by 2 bays |
| Owner | Not listed in the ACA database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; set deep in the plot and hard to see 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）裏二階
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005066
- Cultural Heritage Online: 帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）裏二階
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/181286
- 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
