Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Well House

What the Well House Is

The Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Well House (帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）井戸上屋, ido uwaya) is a mid-Meiji roofed well in Hetsugi Honmachi, Nakahetsugi, Oita City, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005. It stands west of the bathhouse, running east to west, 2 by 1 and a half bays, with a building area of 8.8 square metres. The ACA classifies it not as a building but as a structure.

Four posts rise from a platform of cut stone and carry a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of pantiles. At the centre, cut stones form a rectangular well curb, and stone steps climb the platform on its north and south sides. The ACA description mentions no walls; posts and roof shelter the well.

Why It Was Listed

The Hoashi Family Branch Residence Well House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The ACA commentary calls it a large well house and valuable for what it shows of daily life at the time.

Before piped water, the well was a household's lifeline. Drinking water, cooking, laundry and the bath all started here. Most well shelters were flimsy and rarely survived. This one keeps a solid form: a cut-stone platform, a rectangular curb and steps on two sides.

Its position tells a story. From east to west run the kitchen, the bathhouse and the well house, linking the place water was drawn to the places it was used. The daily round of the Hoashi branch household turned around this small structure.

What to Look For

Start at the platform. Raising the well on cut stone kept rain and mud out of the water. Steps on both the north and south sides mean it could be approached from two directions.

The curb is rectangular rather than round, probably because squared stone was easier to cut and fit than a circular shaft lining.

Carried on four posts, the tiled gable roof has a light, open look. At 8.8 square metres the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Well House is generous for a well shelter, leaving room under cover to fill buckets and wash.

Visiting

The Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Well House is not open to the public (checked 25 September 2026). It stands west of the bathhouse, deep in the plot, and cannot be seen from the eastern street.

The well is part of a private household. Please do not look in from outside the property or enter it.

Directions to the site as a whole are on the Hoashi Family Branch Residence page.